The NBA will announce the 2025-26 Coach of the Year winner Tuesday night ahead of Game 5 of the Western Conference finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Detroit Pistons’ J.B. Bickerstaff, the Boston Celtics’ Joe Mazzulla and the Spurs’ Mitch Johnson are finalists for the award.
Bickerstaff led the Pistons as they plowed through the regular season to win 60 games for the first time since 2006. He has a 104-60 regular-season record since taking over as Detroit’s coach two years ago. Earlier this month, the Pistons rewarded Bickerstaff with a contract extension, showing the franchise’s belief in him and the team culture he has cultivated.
The extension followed Detroit’s comeback from a 3-1 deficit in the Pistons’ first-round series against the Orlando Magic, marking the franchise’s first playoff series win since 2008. However, they fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Mazzulla was considered a Coach of the Year contender throughout the season after guiding the Celtics to their fifth straight 50-plus-win campaign. Boston’s success came despite an offseason overhaul and Jayson Tatum missing most of the season while recovering from a torn Achilles.
In December, Mazzulla won Eastern Conference Coach of the Month and said nobody cares about that award. When asked near the end of the regular season about potentially winning Coach of the Year, he brushed it off.
“I don’t need it,” Mazzulla said on March 30. “I think it’s a stupid award. They shouldn’t have it. And it’s more about the players. It’s more about the work that the staff puts in. It’s just that simple. I really don’t ever want to be asked or talk about it again.”
Johnson’s team remains in the playoffs, with its Western Conference finals series against the Thunder tied at 2-2. The Spurs are playing for a spot in the NBA Finals, where they would face the New York Knicks, who advanced Monday night.
This is Johnson’s first full season at the helm after he took over for longtime head coach Gregg Popovich in 2024-25. Under Johnson’s guidance, San Antonio surged to a 62-20 regular-season record and its first playoff appearance since 2019.
The Spurs, led by Victor Wembanyama, will face the Thunder in Game 5 on Tuesday night on NBC and Peacock. The Coach of the Year announcement will be made at 7:30 p.m. ET, and the game will tip off at 8:30 p.m.
