The race for NBA Coach of the Yr is getting intense.
In actual fact, this may 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 stated their chief, J.B. Bickerstaff, ought to win the coveted prize.
“J. B. Bickerstaff is the Coach of the Year. I am shell-shocked at what I’ve seen from Detroit,” Smith emphatically stated.
“J. B. Bickerstaff is the Coach of the Year. I am 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 Yr 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 group in an enormous manner.
Final season, they held a league-worst 14-68 document and had been incomes a spot in NBA historical past for the way poorly they had been performing.
Now they’ve a 33-26 document, have gained eight video games in a row, and simply defeated the reigning champion Boston Celtics.
They seem like a totally completely different group, though quite a lot of their roster has remained the identical.
Bickerstaff had his work reduce out for him when he got here to the group in the summertime, and few individuals thought the Pistons would discover this type of success in 2024-25.
However they’re now professional playoff contenders lower than a 12 months after being the worst group within the league by far.
There may be nonetheless competitors for Coach of the Yr, together with Kenny Atkinson of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
All eyes might 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.
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