John-Blair Bickerstaff was born in Denver, Colorado, on March 10, 1979. He is the son of former NBA coach Bernie Bickerstaff. They are the first African-American father and son who have been full-time NBA head coaches.
J.B. is a professional basketball coach in the U.S. Bickerstaff is currently the Cleveland Cavaliers coach. Before coaching The Cavs, he worked for several NBA teams, including Charlotte, Houston, and Memphis.
After graduating from high school, J.B. moved to Oregon State University, where he didn’t play an important role in his first two seasons. Bickerstaff transferred to the University of Minnesota. He played his best season as a Golden Gopher, averaging 11 points and 6 rebounds per game. He never played in the NBA.
After his NCAA playing days, he started to work as the director of operations for the University of Minnesota men’s basketball program. He assisted with all administrative areas of the program. He also helped the coaching staff not only with coaching but also with scouting and recruiting. He was also a media member and provided analysis on radio broadcasts for the Minnesota Timberwolves during the 2003-04 season.
J.B Bickerstaff – Coaching career
J. B. Bickerstaff worked three years for the Charlotte Bobcats as an assistant coach and after that, his journey took him to the Minnesota Timberwolves where he worked four seasons in their coaching staff. In July 2011, Houston Rockets hired him as their new full-time assistant coach.
He was named interim head coach of the Rockets in the middle of the 2015-2016 season, following the dismissal of Kevin McHale. The same day he got the job, J.B. coached his first game against the Portland Trail Blazers with an overtime victory.
After the season, Bickerstaff resigned from his position and ended his tenure with the Houston Rockets.
In June 2016, the Memphis Grizzlies hired Bickerstaff as an assistant coach under the head coach David Fizdale.
On November 27, 2017, JB Bickerstaff was promoted to interim head coach of the Grizzlies following the firing of David Fizdale. In May 2018, he was announced as the Grizzlies’ fourth head coach. J.B Bickerstaff extended the contract for three additional seasons in the summer of 2018. But Memphis ended the cooperation following the Grizzlies’ thirteenth place in the Western Conference for the 2018-2019 season.
J.B Bickerstaff – Cleveland Cavaliers
In May 2019, the Cleveland Cavaliers named him assistant under head coach John Beilein. February 19, 2020, the head coach, Beilein, resigned as head coach of the Cavaliers, and Bickerstaff has announced as interim head coach till the end of the season.
Under Bickerstaff team started to show signs of improvement and managed to get some surprising wins.
When this season started, nobody was counting on Cavs as playoffs candidates. Still, a young group of players has shown significant improvement, and they are currently one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference.
At the beginning of the season, they’ve won five straight games by an average of 16.8 points. Cavs had only won a small number of games in the last couple of years since their superstars left the team and found their luck in other places.
In March 2020, the Cavaliers announced that they had agreed to a multi-year contract with Bickerstaff, keeping him in Ohio for the next 5 seasons. The franchise hopes that they have found a long-term solution after a few seasons where the team was not playing good basketball.
In his coaching career, Bickerstaff has a 48-73 record with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and his overall record is 118 wins and 155 losses.
What is Bernie Bickerstaff doing now?
Bernie Bickerstaff is working as Senior basketball advisor for the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the same time, he is an owner of the Bickerstaff group, specializing in event production, branding, and marketing.
What team did Bernie Bickerstaff coach for?
Bernie Bickerstaff was the head coach for the Seatle SuperSonics(1985-1990). J.B. served as a ball boy when his father coached the Sonics. After that, he coached Denver Nuggets(1994-1996).
In 2003 Charlotte Bobcats named him their first head coach and general manager. He stayed with the team for three seasons.
He also served as interim head coach for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2012-2013 season while Mike D’Antoni was recovering from his knee surgery.
Who coached the Cleveland Cavaliers championship team?
Tyronn Lue was the head coach of the Cavs during the 2015-2016 season. He started that season as David Blatt’s assistant, but he replaced him when Blatt got fired. Lue became one of the rear head coaches who won the championship in his rookie season.
