The Cleveland Cavaliers have dismissed J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach, it was announced today by Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman from Cleveland Clinic Courts.
Bickerstaff, who posted a 170-159 regular season record (6-11 postseason), reached the playoffs in back-to-back seasons (2023, 2024) and recorded at least 44 wins in each of the last three campaigns. The Cavaliers also won a First-Round playoff series and advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2018.
“J.B. is a well-respected NBA coach and an incredible human-being,” said Altman. “Over the past four years, he helped establish a culture that progressively drove players to become the best versions of themselves. Decisions like these are never easy, particularly when you look back at where this franchise rebuild started under his leadership. The NBA is a unique business that sometimes requires aggressive risk-taking to move a franchise forward and ultimately compete for championships. We owe a ton of gratitude for everything J.B. has contributed to the Cavaliers and his engagement in the Cleveland community. We wish J.B., his wife Nikki and their three children the best in their future endeavors.”
Bickerstaff signed a multi-year contract extension in December 2021 and helped increase the Cavaliers win total in three straight seasons (from 19-46 in 2019-20; 22-50 in 2020-21; 44-38 in 2021-22 and 51-31 in 2022-23). He was also instrumental in the development of the Cavaliers young core of players.
During the 2022-23 season, Bickerstaff guided Cleveland to their first 50-win season and postseason berth since 2017-18 at 51-31. The Cavaliers finished with the NBA’s best defensive rating (109.9) and 8th-best offensive rating (115.5) and were one of only three NBA teams to finish Top 10 in both offensive and defensive rating (Boston and Philadelphia). In 2021-22, he led the Cavs to a 44-38 mark, doubling their win total from the previous season. When Bickerstaff first took over the helm shortly after the 2020 All-Star break, the Cavs posted a 5-6 record before the season was indefinitely suspended due to COVID-19.
Bickerstaff, 45, originally joined the Cavaliers as the team’s associate head coach prior to the 2019-20 season.