Toronto Raptors head coach Dwane Casey and his staff will coach Team LeBron at the 2018 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played Sunday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Casey is the first coach in franchise history to earn the honour.
With tonight’s 123-111 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, the Raptors (33-15, .688) clinched the best possible record in the Eastern Conference through games played Sunday, Feb. 4 among the 14 conference teams with a head coach eligible to participate in the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. Brad Stevens of the Boston Celtics is ineligible because he coached the East in last year’s All-Star Game.
Under Casey’s leadership the Raptors have won three Atlantic Division titles and advanced to the postseason in a franchise-record four consecutive seasons. He has guided the club to a 294-230 (.561) regular-season mark in seven seasons, including the only two 50-win seasons in team history. Casey is the longest tenured coach in franchise history and is the team’s all-time winningest coach. He has earned the NBA Coach of the Month award five times (Dec. 2017, Dec. 2016, Jan. 2016, Nov. 2014, Dec. 2013). Casey is the only coach in franchise history to win the award multiple times.
Los Angeles will mark Casey’s third NBA All-Star Weekend. He was a member of Seattle SuperSonics head coach George Karl’s staff who coached the Western Conference All-Stars in 1998 (New York) and 1996 (San Antonio).