The race for NBA Coach of the 12 months is getting intense.
Actually, this would possibly find yourself being probably the most thrilling end-of-season award for 2024-25.
Talking on “First Take,” Stephen A. Smith heaped reward on the Detroit Pistons and mentioned their chief, J.B. Bickerstaff, ought to win the coveted prize.
“J. B. Bickerstaff is the Coach of the 12 months. I’m shell-shocked at what I’ve seen from Detroit,” Smith emphatically mentioned.
“J. B. Bickerstaff is the Coach of the 12 months. I’m shell-shocked at what I’ve seen from Detroit.”
—@stephenasmith on the Pistons’ head coach 👀 pic.twitter.com/pH9p6r0bd5
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 27, 2025
He talked about that he earlier submitted JJ Redick as a Coach of the 12 months candidate, and, whereas he stays impressed by Redick’s work, he thinks Bickerstaff deserves this honor greater than anybody else.
Bickerstaff has turned issues round for the staff in an enormous means.
Final season, they held a league-worst 14-68 file and had been incomes a spot in NBA historical past for a way poorly they had been performing.
Now they’ve a 33-26 file, have received eight video games in a row, and simply defeated the reigning champion Boston Celtics.
They appear like a totally totally different staff, despite the fact that loads of their roster has remained the identical.
Bickerstaff had his work lower out for him when he got here to the staff in the summertime, and few folks thought the Pistons would discover this type of success in 2024-25.
However they’re now respectable playoff contenders lower than a yr after being the worst staff within the league by far.
There may be nonetheless competitors for Coach of the 12 months, together with Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
All eyes can be on each the Cavs and the Pistons for the ultimate weeks of the common season as a result of this can be a race that’s solely heating up.
NEXT: Followers React to Pistons Beating The Celtics On Wednesday