Detroit — The NBA announced on Tuesday that Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla won Coach of the Year honors for the 2025-26 season. He finished ahead of J.B. Bickerstaff (Detroit Pistons) and Mitch Johnson (San Antonio Spurs), who finished second and third, respectively.
In his second season as head coach of the Pistons, Bickerstaff led the team to the third-best record in franchise history at 60-22. He also led the Pistons to 32 home victories at Little Caesars Arena, as well as a franchise-best 28 road wins.
The honor of his Coach of the Year candidacy, Bickerstaff received a handful of awards during the season. He was named Coach of the Month in November and was chosen to be the coach for the Eastern Conference at the 2026 NBA All-Star Game in February.
Bickerstaff’s career year was a continuation of the Pistons’ ongoing resurgence, in which he has helped the franchise emerge from purgatory since his arrival in July 2024.
This season, Bickerstaff became the first head coach in league history to take a franchise from 60 losses (2024) to 60 wins in a two-season span. He also became the third fastest coach to reach 100 wins in franchise history. He did so in 159 games.
Coty.Davis@detroitnews.com
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Pistons’ Bickerstaff finishes second for NBA coach award
Reporting by Coty M. Davis, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
