Former CBA Coach Flip Saunders Leads East Team to 122-120 Victory in NBA All-Star Game
February 20, 2006 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1) News Release
Boise, ID (February 20, 2006) - Former Continental Basketball Association head coach, and current Detroit Pistons head coach, Flip Saunders, led the Eastern Conference to a 122-120 victory in the NBA All-Star game Sunday, Feb. 19, in Houston, Texas. The game was played at the Toyota Center, home of the Houston Rockets.
Saunders earned the right to coach in his second NBA All-Star game by leading Detroit to an NBA-best 42-9 (.824 pct.) record at the All-Star break. Saunders' coaching stint for the Eastern Conference squad made him just the sixth coach in NBA All-Star history to coach both the Eastern Conference and Western Conference All-Star teams, joining among others fellow CBA coaching alum Phil Jackson on that list. Saunders, while with the Minnesota Timberwolves, led the Western Conference to a 136-132 victory in the 2004 NBA All-Star game.
The Cleveland, Ohio native is in his 11th season as head coach in the NBA (first with Detroit) after coaching seven seasons in the CBA with Rapid City, La Crosse and Sioux Falls. Saunders led La Crosse to two CBA Championships in 1990 and 1992, earning CBA Coach of the Year honors both of those seasons. Saunders coached the American Conference to a 119-108 victory in the 1994 CBA All-Star game, then led the National Conference to a 119-115 win in the 1995 CBA All-Star Classic.
Saunders is one of 10 current NBA head coaches that have ties to the CBA. Included in that list are; Rick Carlisle (Indiana), Maurice Cheeks (Philadelphia), Bob Hill (Seattle), Phil Jackson (Los Angeles Lakers), Eddie Jordan (Washington), George Karl (Denver), Sam Mitchell (Toronto), Jerry Sloan (Utah), and Terry Stotts (Milwaukee).
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