Since hiring J.B. Bickerstaff, the Detroit Pistons have undergone one of the most rapid two-year improvements in NBA history. Bickerstaff was recognized for leading the Eastern Conference’s best team this past season Tuesday, May 26.
Still, Bickerstaff missed out on NBA Coach of the Year, the league announced. Bickerstaff, in his third season in Detroit, finished behind Boston Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. That was despite the Pistons winning 60 games in 2025-26, clinching the No. 1 seed in the East and the third-best record in franchise history.
Bickerstaff was a finalist along with San Antonio Spurs coach Mitch Johnson (whose squad joined the Pistons as the only teams in NBA history to go from 60 losses to 60 wins in two seasons) and Mazzulla (whose squad earned the No. 2 seed in the East despite missing Jayson Tatum for much of the season).
Bickerstaff was named on 94 of the 100 ballots from global media members in the results released by the NBA on Tuesday. He received 29 first-place votes, 51 second-place votes and 14 thirds, for a total of 312 points in a 5-3-1 point system. Mazzulla, meanwhile, received 62 firsts, 24 seconds and 10 thirds, for 392 points. Johnson picked up the nine other first-place votes, along with 17 seconds and 37 thirds, for 133 points.
Last year’s winner, Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers, received one third-place vote to finish tied for 10th this season. Charles Lee of the Charlotte Hornets was the only other coach to receive more than two second-place votes.
It’s a split of the major coaching awards for Bickerstaff, who was named Coach of the Year by the National Basketball Coaches Association in April. He finished second in the NBA’s Coach of the Year voting in 2024-25, after leading the Pistons to 44 wins – a 30-win improvement compared to the season prior to his hiring.
In total, the two seasons under Bickerstaff have featured a 46-win improvement, following a 14-win season in 2023-24 that was their worst in franchise history. Bickerstaff is the first NBA coach to finish as runner-up in back-to-back seasons since Rick Adelman of the Sacramento Kings did it in 2001-02. Cleveland’s Mike Fratello also did it in 1995-96, and Al Attles did it with the Golden State Warriors in 1975-76.
This has been a rich awards season for the Pistons. Cade Cunningham became the seventh player in franchise history to earn All-NBA first-team honors on Sunday, and he was joined by Jalen Duren (third team), making them the Pistons’ first All-NBA duo since Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups in 2005-06. Ausar Thompson became their first player to make All-Defense since Tayshaun Prince in 2007-08 last Friday and is their first to make the first team since Wallace in 2005-06.
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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff misses out on NBA Coach of the Year Award
Reporting by Omari Sankofa II, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
