At the end of the season, the Detroit Pistons should have two members of their team take home season awards. After breaking out as an All-Star and the face of a playoff-bound franchise, Cade Cunningham is the favorite to win the Most Improved Player Award. JB Bickerstaff, meanwhile, is poised to win Coach of the Year after leading Detroit to three times their wins from last season in just his first year at the helm.
Not only does Bickerstaff have the backing of fans and the national media, but his players are all very much on his side as well.
Recent addition Tim Hardaway Jr. sounded off in favor of Bickerstaff after a statement win over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Pistons defeated the best-in-the-Eastern-Conference Cavaliers on Friday, winning 133-122. Despite Donovan Mitchell scoring 38 points, the Pistons held strong, led by Hardaway Jr's 32 points.
"The way we play is his style and brand of basketball and his attitude. He's done an amazing job of giving guys that confidence, giving guys that ability to go out there and compete on both ends of the floor, no matter if you make a mistake here or there, or multiple mistakes in a row," praised Hardaway Jr. "As long as you're competing and moving on to the next play, that's all he cares about."
While it's usual for players to lobby for their coach to win COTY, the Pistons definitely have a leg up on all other franchises, as Bickerstaff has successfully turned around the record and culture in Detroit.
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"We want to go to battle for him, we want to go to war for him," finished Hardaway Jr. "And I feel like that's what makes this group, this group, that's what makes him, I think, the Coach of the Year."
The Pistons will have Saturday off before traveling to take on the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
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This story was originally published March 29, 2025 at 2:27 PM.