Detroit Pistons Representation Grows Ahead of 2026 NBA All-Star Game

Cade Cunningham will not be the only Detroit Pistons figure in Los Angeles for the 75th edition of the NBA's annual All Star Game.

Mar 13, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach JB Bickerstaff looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Ahead of the NBA All-Star Game on February 15, the Detroit Pistons will be well represented during All-Star Weekend in Inglewood.

The league announces All-Star head coaches from teams leading their respective conferences as of February 1, with a third coach to be named by the NBA. One of those selections is Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who was officially named the Eastern Conference head coach for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game on Saturday.

The honor was secured after Boston, which entered Saturday night in second place, fell 114–111 to the Chicago Bulls, locking the Pistons into the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Detroit, now 32–11, holds a five-game lead over the Celtics and clinched first place a full week before the cutoff date.

Bickerstaff finished second in Coach of the Year voting last season after guiding the Pistons to a playoff appearance following a meagre 14-win campaign the year prior. He joins Cade Cunningham, who has been named as a starter.

He becomes the first Pistons coach to earn an All-Star nod since Flip Saunders in 2006 and the fourth in franchise history, joining Saunders, Doug Collins (1997), and Chuck Daly (1990).

The other head coaches for the All Star Game

In the Western Conference, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Mark Daigneault and his team boast a significant lead over the San Antonio Spurs for the league’s best record.

However, Daigneault is ineligible to coach the All-Star Game after serving in that role last season. As a result, the Western Conference All-Star coach will be selected from the second-place team as of February 1.

Entering Sunday, the Spurs (31–14), led by Mitch Johnson in his first full season replacing long-time coach Gregg Popovich, held a half-game edge over the Denver Nuggets (31–15) and their playcaller David Adelman.

San Antonio also maintained a three-game lead over the Houston Rockets (27–16), who are coached by Ime Udoka.

This year’s NBA All Star Game will feature two teams of U.S.-born players and one team consisting solely of international players.

The three teams will compete in a round-robin tournament with four 12-minute games.

The breakdown, per NBA.com : "In the round-robin tournament, Team A will play Team B in Game 1.  The winning team from Game 1 will take on Team C in Game 2, followed by the losing team of Game 1 meeting Team C in Game 3.

"After Game 3, the top two teams by record will advance to face each other in the championship game (Game 4).  If all three teams have a 1-1 record after Game 3, the tiebreaker would be point differential in each team’s two round-robin games."