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JB Bickerstaff Named January’s Eastern Conference Coach of the Month

Cavs’ head coach, JB Bickerstaff, received his first-ever coach of the month award by leading Cleveland to the east’s best record in January.

JB Bickerstaff earned the prestigious honor of Coach of the Month in January. By inspiring the beaten-down Cavaliers to an 11-4 record, Cleveland holstered the eastern conference’s best record. Additionally, their month’s record became the franchise’s best one since November of 2017. Doing so just goes to show this year’s Cavs’ team is the real deal and ready for the postseason. However, in his typical self-less fashion, JB brushed off the accolade.

“It’s appreciation for the circumstances that I am in,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s an appreciation for being able to work for an organization that supports me.”

When John Beilein stepped down as head coach, Cleveland management decided to stick internally for his replacement. Hence, almost two years ago, on Feb. 19, 2020, the Cavs named JB Bickerstaff as their next head coach. Since then, the organization rebuilt its roster and culture. After LeBron left, most considered Cleveland a long-term rebuild, but Bickerstaff and GM Koby Altman quickly turned things around.

So much so, both received lengthy extensions in the past three months. In December, Cleveland extended JB throughout the 2027 season. Whereas, not even a month ago, management extended Altman throughout the 2028 season. Both men deserve tremendous credit for the Cavaliers’ rather immediate return to relevancy. And Bickerstaff is the first person to recognize others’ contributions.

“What you appreciate the most is the opportunity for him [Koby Altman] to finish his plan,” Bickerstaff’s responded to the extension back on  Jan. 12. “Our league is a very impatient league, so it speaks a lot to the caliber of ownership and leadership that they’re giving Koby the runway to finish out his vision.”

JB Bickerstaff: “It’s About the Group”

Bickerstaff’s head coached six total seasons in Cleveland thus far. In that time, he’s never led his team to a winning record. However, this year seems destined to end that streak. With a 33-21 record to date, the Cavaliers only sit one game behind three teams. Furthermore, the season’s success arrived via patience and perseverance. As coach said, the NBA is constantly changing and refuses to give players or coaches time to develop. And yet, Cleveland took a leap of faith and commit to their guys.

Consequently, the Cavs now host one of the league’s best records, coaching staffs, and roster. Not to mention a very bright future too. Coach Bickerstaff remains humble, though, and shares the success with everyone around him. His selflessness is reflected on the court with a team-oriented style of play where no individual outweighs the team. In a similar sense, Bickerstaff believes no individual award, like coach of the month, comes before or without the group’s commitment.

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What makes this honor even more impressive, though, is the number of obstacles JB Bickerstaff and the Cavs continuously workaround. Star-guard, and first-time all-star, Darius Garland is still sidelined and missed the last four games. Lauri Markkanen last played on Jan. 22 with his return still uncertain. Both Isaac Okoro and Rajon Rondo missed two weeks in January due to injury. The list goes on and on too, as both Ricky Rubio (article coming soon) and Collin Sexton won’t return this year.

All things considered, performing even mediocrely would have been impressive. However, Bickerstaff, despite denying sole credit, continues leading this young, unproven team to victory. If sustained, look for JB Bickerstaff to build off of his first-career coach of the month award and strive for the elite Coach of the Year trophy.

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