Toward the end of December, a two-game skid capped a stretch of underwhelming defensive performances for the Detroit Pistons. They got out of their funk by eschewing basketball altogether.
Rather than hold their usual practice in Los Angeles at the UCLA Student Activity Center, they went to the field for a game of outdoor soccer.
A day later, they were loose and connected in a 128-106 blowout over the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena.
“It was a time where you lose a couple in a row, and people can get a little down and start thinking about it,” coach J.B. Bickerstaff said after the win on Dec. 30. “We hadn’t seen the sunshine in I don’t know how long. We went outside and had a good time playing.”
It highlighted Bickerstaff’s coaching philosophy. He has coaxed maximum effort out of a Pistons team that completed a season sweep over the Lakers on Monday, March 23, to improve to 52-19 overall, the best record in the Eastern Conference with roughly three weeks of season remaining.
Their magic number to clinch the top seed is six, entering Tuesday, over the Boston Celtics.
Bickerstaff has done this while instilling a culture that both encourages intensity on the floor, and accommodates playfulness off of it.
From the day he took over the position during the 2024 offseason, he pledged to create an environment that players wanted to work in. The vibes are good in Detroit, and it starts with a head coach making a strong claim for Coach of the Year. After leaping from 14 to 44 wins last season, the Pistons now are firmly the top team in the East with a chance at hitting the 60-win threshold.
Players often credit Bickerstaff, who has been a strong personality fit with his team since Day 1.
“He would always talk about we’re going to work, but it would be fun at the same time and just to trust him,” Ausar Thompson said March 18. “I feel like that’s what it’s been since he’s been here. This year it’s just showing.
“He knows how to balance, sometimes with the jokes, sometimes it’s a little break in-between of the hard work, do something a little fun, a competition, bring out laughs and then it’s back to the work. It is good to have that in a business that you think would be very super serious.”
Why ‘fun’ is a necessity for JB Bickerstaff
Bickerstaff inherited a team fresh off of its worst season in franchise history – a 14-68 debacle in 2023-24 that also featured an NBA-record 28-game losing streak. They needed an energy jolt and Bickerstaff’s hands-on approach and casual, honest communication style clicked.
The building process isn’t always fun, which makes Bickerstaff’s steadfast belief in creating a “fun” environment crucial to the success of the team – particularly one that needed a pick-me-up after a dour season.
“There’s an old saying my grandmother used to say, and it was, ‘Baby don’t let anybody steal your joy,’ right?” Bickerstaff recalled before the Pistons defeated the Wizards on the road March 19. “Every single day that you show up to a place, if you have that joy, everything is that much easier. The work is easier, the camaraderie is easier.
“The most difficult things that we have to go through in a season are easier, whether it’s the travel, whether it’s the ups and downs of wins and losses, whether it’s off nights or whatever it may be, trying to be in a place and create an environment where people want to show up every single day is the most important thing that we can do.”
The message, and his approach, resonated with a young team eager to make its mark. Bickerstaff is a direct, honest speaker. He regularly talks about the importance of having difficult talks to build trust.
“He’s not afraid to tell you about yourself, not afraid to be 100% with you, be honest with you, and he’s also not afraid to hype you up and tell you,” Ron Holland said. “That’s one thing about him that I’ve seen with me, and he’ll get on me if I’m out there BS-ing, he’s gonna tell me and let me know about it and tell me get your head in the game. That’s one thing I commend him for because you don’t see too many coaches like that.”
It’s not only difficult talks, though. Bickerstaff often begins film sessions by talking about … anything.
“Yeah, non-basketball, like random,” Tobias Harris said. “It’s a bunch of random stuff. I think that’s cool and I just think that’s the coach that he is. I think the group really appreciates him. We all respect what we do here and respect coming to work together and just trying to be at our best on a daily basis.”
JB Bickerstaff and Pistons a perfect match
Jalen Duren couldn’t quite put his finger on why Bickerstaff instantly clicked with the Pistons’ core cohort. But when asking players what sticks out about him, they often mention his straightforwardness and relatability.
Bickerstaff is the coach, but he carries himself with a different air.
“You can talk to him on and off the court, you can conversate with him about anything,” Duren said. “He’s a guy who, you see something on the court, he’s a coach who talks it out with you and he expects and gets the best out of everybody on the roster, and he just has his way of doing it and we all want to run through a wall for him, we all play hard for him, we all want to compete with him because he makes us all feel like family.”
Thompson added that talking to Bickerstaff is like talking to a “normal guy.”
“I really don’t know how to say it,” Thompson said. “It’s like a normal guy who just happens to be a coach and a great leader at the same time. But it’s easy to go talk to him if you’re eating, and talk to him about whatever. He’s open to listen and share his own experience as well.”
The Pistons fit Bickerstaff’s prefered style of play, which largely revolves around smashmouth, physical defense. They have the No. 2 defense and a top-10 offense, driven by their ability to force turnovers and get out in transition.
His personality – fiery on the floor, friendly and family-oriented off it – meshes with a roster that can turn the temperature up or down depending on how severely they’re challenged.
It shows that fit matters for coaches just as much as it does players.
Bickerstaff enjoyed success with the Cleveland Cavaliers, but was fired after an underwhelming playoff exit in the second round. It led him to a Pistons roster more suited for his personality and coaching mantra.
The Pistons are having fun and Bickerstaff is delivering the promises he made after taking the job nearly 21 months ago.
“Honestly this team fits him a little bit better than the Cleveland team did,” LeVert said. We have a lot of young guys, very defensive-minded team. The Cleveland team was very defensive-minded as well but I think we have just different personnel. It’s always good when someone gets a fresh start any time in life. The fresh start was great for him here, the guys love him here.
“He’s like an uncle, you know what I mean? Keeps it very light, but at the same time just very well-respected. He’s done an amazing job here so far.”
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How J.B. Bickerstaff turned Pistons from worst to 1st in stunning speed
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
