With Phoenix’s 10th consecutive win on Sunday, the Suns clinched the best record in the West and Williams’ place as an All-Star head coach.
NEW YORK – Phoenix Suns head coach Monty Williams and his staff will coach Team LeBron in the 2022 NBA All-Star Game, which will be played on Sunday, Feb. 20 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. The 71st NBA All-Star Game will air live at 8 p.m. ET on TNT and ESPN Radio in the United States.
Phoenix (40-9, .816) defeated the San Antonio Spurs 115-110 tonight to clinch the best record in the Western Conference through games played on Sunday, Feb. 6. As a result, Williams has earned a spot as a head coach in the NBA All-Star Game for the first time. He will be the Suns’ first NBA All-Star Game head coach since Mike D’Antoni in the 2006-07 season.
Players celebrate and Monty Williams reflects on the team clinching his All-Star coaching honors.
This will mark the fifth time in franchise history the Suns coaching staff will work the NBA All-Star Game, joining 1981 (John MacLeod), 1993 (Paul Westphal), 1995 (Westphal) and 2007 (Mike D’Antoni). The game will be the first All-Star coaching experience for all but two of the coaches on the Suns staff, as Randy Ayers (Philadelphia in 2001) and Mark Bryant (Oklahoma City in 2012 and 2014) have served on the staffs in previous All-Star Games.
Under Williams, the Suns have the best record in the NBA this season and are off to their best start in franchise history through the first 49 games of a season. Phoenix won a franchise-record 18 consecutive games from Oct. 30 – Dec. 2 and has a current 10-game winning streak. Williams was named the NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month for games played in October/November.
Williams is in his third season as Phoenix’s head coach. Last season, he guided the Suns to a 51-21 record and their first appearance in the NBA Finals since the 1992-93 season. Williams previously served as head coach of the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans for five seasons.
Each head coach in the NBA All-Star Game will lead the team that includes the captain from the same conference. Williams will coach the All-Star team captained by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James.
The eligible head coach of the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference through games played on Feb. 6 will coach the All-Star team captained by Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant. Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers is ineligible because he served as a head coach in the NBA All-Star Game last season.
