San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich will coach the Western Conference All-Stars in the 2016 NBA All-Star Game, the NBA announced on Wednesday morning.
Head coaches whose teams have the best records in each conference following the games played two weeks prior to the All-Star Game serve as the All-Star Game head coaches, but no head coach is allowed to participate in two consecutive All-Star Games.
Interim head coach Luke Walton led the Golden State Warriors to a 39-4 record in the season’s first 43 games prior to the Jan. 22 return of head coach Steve Kerr.
There is no precedent set for an interim coach assuming the All-Star head coaching responsibilities, but the league considered giving the honor to Walton.
[RELATED: Walton 'not in a rush' to leave Warriors for head coaching job]
"We are reviewing our rules around the West coach situation to determine what is appropriate," a league spokesperson told CSNBayArea.com last Friday.
Despite Golden State holding the conference’s best record (41-4, .911), Kerr is ineligible for the coaching honor because he led last year’s West All-Stars.
Popovich’s Spurs (38-7, .844) have clinched the next best record in the Western Conference, earning the five-time NBA Champion his fourth nod as the head coach of the West.
NBA media services contributed to this story.