J.B. Bickerstaff Breaks Down the Pistons’ “Rough and Rugged” Identity Going Into the 2025–26 Season

The Detroit Pistons were the signature pushovers in the NBA till last season. For five straight years, they hadn’t won more than 23 games, and they hadn’t finished above .500 since 2016. Under new head coach J.B. Bickerstaff in the 2024-25 season, they underwent a historic change, raising their win total by 30 and grabbing the 6-seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Ironically, the Pistons moved forward by going backward, back to the best era in franchise history. Yes, we are talking about the ‘Bad Boys’, who used to beat teams up physically and then on the scoreboard.

With a new season looming, the Pistons are now thought to be one of the strongest contenders in the East. It’s the first occasion in a long time that they are getting respect while coming into the season. Bickerstaff was interviewed by SiriusXM NBA Radio, where he explained how he helped turn the proud franchise’s fortunes around.

“We will always be on the defensive side first … If you can’t defend, you can’t win at the level you want to, I don’t care how great your offense is,” said Bickerstaff. “At some point, you’re gonna have to be able to get stops on demand.”

Every coach wants his team to play great defense, but not everyone has a plan in place for it. Bickerstaff does. “You don’t know many teams that can be rough and rugged and physical in the way that we want to be, and then be explosive on the offensive end of the floor,” he explained.

“Our objective is to suffocate people on the defensive end of the floor. We want you fighting for your life, and then now, you’re out of breath and you’re trying to chase us down offensively, and now it just compounds, and let’s see if you can withstand that all the way for 48 minutes,” added the coach with conviction.

Led by physical and athletic players like Jalen Duren, Ausar Thompson, and Isaiah Stewart, the Pistons battled their way to a top-10 defensive rating last year. All three are young with tons of untapped potential, as are Cade Cunningham, an All-NBA-caliber player, Jaden Ivey, and Ron Holland II.

The Knicks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year. But the Pistons gave them all they could handle in the first round of the playoffs. That has set the base now for expectations. With the East in a weakened state and the Pistons having another year of experience under their belt, they could make some real noise with their rough and rugged style.