Raptors’ Rajaković to coach World squad in new All-Star format
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Toronto Raptors head coach Darko Rajaković has been selected to lead the World team in the NBA’s first U.S. vs. World All-Star mini-tournament on Feb. 15, the league announced Tuesday.
The Serbian coach, whose club is the lone NBA franchise based outside the United States, will serve as an All-Star head coach for the first time. Toronto is 30-21, tracking for its best finish since a 53-19 mark in the pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season and positioned for its first postseason appearance since 2022.
Rajaković will join J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons and Mitch Johnson of the San Antonio Spurs on the All-Star sidelines. Bickerstaff earned his spot with Detroit holding the Eastern Conference’s top record, while Johnson qualified with San Antonio sitting second in the Western Conference at Sunday’s cutoff. Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, whose team leads the West, was ineligible after coaching last year’s All-Star Game.
The NBA is set to reveal the player rosters for both teams Tuesday night. From the Raptors, Scottie Barnes is already slated for the All-Star Game, and rookies Collin Murray-Boyles and Alijah Martin will appear in the Rising Stars event.
Rajaković, 45, began coaching at age 16 in Serbia, later spent time in Spain, and worked nearly a decade as a European consultant for the San Antonio Spurs before moving to the United States in 2012. He was an assistant on Serbia’s staff at the 2019 FIBA World Cup and participated in the 2014 NBA All-Star Weekend as an Oklahoma City Thunder assistant.
Source: ESPN
