NBA Coach of the Year? It’s time to add an All-Coaching team

On Monday evening, I sat in my office with two screens, one showing Spurs-Heat and the other showing Pistons-Lakers. As the postseason nears, I try to pay closer attention to the inner workings of these “high-profile” matchups, viewing them from a playoff lens.

Is Team X truly hitting their stride? Can Team Y adjust to an opponent’s adjustment in the second half? How does Team Z fare against a shapeshifting zone?

What I took away from those two games not only reinforced why both Detroit and San Antonio are among the best teams in the NBA this season, but why their coaching has separated them from the rest of the pack — and why crowning just one as Coach of the Year is cruel.

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The Pistons, who were without Cade Cunningham (and will be for some time as he recovers from a collapsed lung), held the Lakers to 23 points in the fourth quarter, including 0-for-5 from 3 and seven turnovers to boot. Daniss Jenkins (who went undrafted, by the way) continued to excel functioning as a primary initiator, leading the way with 30 points on an efficient 11-for-18 shooting to go along with eight assists and four rebounds.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - MARCH 13: Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff of the Detroit Pistons looks on in the first half while playing the Memphis Grizzlies at Little Caesars Arena on March 13, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) — J.B. Bickerstaff has guided a young Pistons team to the No. 1 seed in the East. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

(Gregory Shamus via Getty Images)

Detroit’s defense-by-committee limited Luka Dončić to 32 points on 29 shots, and its two most important possessions had Kevin Huerter and Jalen Duren tasked with stopping the Slovenian and succeeded, a reminder of the trust that head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has in his entire group. (The Lakers were also one of the hottest teams in the league, having won 12 of their past 13 games. So there’s that.)

A little over 1,000 miles away, the Spurs were able to turn one of their biggest weaknesses — functioning against a zone defense (fourth-worst points per possession) — into a strength against the Heat, the heaviest zone usage team in the NBA (978 possessions, per Synergy tracking data). They registered a monstrous 1.875 points per chance on spot-ups against Miami’s zone, and 1.333 points on cuts, per Synergy tracking data.

San Antonio stretched an eight-point lead, from the 8-minute mark of the second quarter, to a whopping 30-point lead by the midway mark of the third quarter. Dylan Harper and Keldon Johnson both finished with 21 points apiece off the bench, Bam “Mr. 83” Adebayo struggled courtesy of an aggressive Spurs defense (18 points on 17 shots) and 136 points were dropped on the NBA’s No. 7 defense.

In both instances, coaching was at the epicenter. There are various storylines you could pluck from either team. For the Pistons: the improvement of Duren, the development of Jenkins, and the consistency of Cunningham. For the Spurs: Stephon Castle’s rapid rise, Johnson’s malleability, and Harper’s reliability. The list goes on and on.

You could also point to the success both teams have had without their best players. Detroit is 8-2 without Cunningham this season and San Antonio is 10-5 without Victor Wembanyama.

Again, coaching.

So how do you determine who should win Coach of the Year?

This is where it gets tricky. Late March is typically when awards discourse heats up around the league. Look no further than Wembanyama himself making his case for why he should win MVP over the incumbent Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The sheer fact that Wemby is passionate enough about regular-season accolades is refreshing, but hearing him elaborate on his reasoning drove home the realization that criteria — both for voting and non-voting individuals — is fluid, and the narrative can change from year-to-year.

This season has already yielded the need for rule changes to address tanking, gambling and overall integrity. But why stop there? Let’s add another tweak to the awards, and add an All-Coaching team.

We already have the MVP award, but that is supported by All-NBA teams. The Defensive Player of the Year is crowned and there are two All-Defensive groups. Even the Rookie of the Year has two All-Rookie teams. So why not expand the award based on the individuals tasked with leading these great players and teams on a nightly basis?

As with any award selection, my methodology of differentiating who and who doesn’t belong on my All-Coaching team is down to the following criteria:

Season expectations (a combination of previous season’s record and Vegas odds)
Talent level and development
Player availability and maneuvering in the presence of injuries

These would be my five selections for the inaugural All-Coaching team:

J.B. Bickerstaff, Detroit Pistons

Vegas preseason win projection: 46.5
Current record: 52-19 (10th in offense, 2nd in defense)

Who needs to shoot a bunch of 3s when you lead the league in turnover rate? Bickerstaff has done perhaps the most remarkable coaching job in the league this season. The Pistons are playing with house money, being considerably ahead of schedule, spearheaded by Cunningham’s MVP-esque campaign, the NBA’s No. 2 defense and an abundance of youth. Detroit, which won 44 games last season, isn’t supposed to be here right now. Period.

Mitch Johnson, San Antonio Spurs

Vegas preseason win projection: 44.5
Current record: 54-18 (4th in offense, 3rd in defense)

Coming off of Wembanyama’s second season, one would have assumed the Spurs would at least challenge for a play-in spot. Making it to the NBA Cup final, going band for band with the reigning champs, having beaten them four out of five times this year already, wasn’t on anyone’s bingo card. The Spurs are 20-2 over their last 22 games. Johnson has built this team in his image. He has gotten complete buy-in from the veterans and is challenging the status quo. Oh, and Wemby looks like the best player in basketball right now and still has other levels to get to.

Joe Mazzulla, Boston Celtics

Vegas preseason win projection: 41.5
Current record: 47-24 (2nd in offense, 4th in defense)

2025-26 was slated to be a mulligan for Boston, with Jayson Tatum gone for the majority of the season rehabbing a torn Achilles, and Celtics ownership stripping the roster down to its barebones to avoid heavy tax penalties. Tell that to Mazulla, who shoehorned Jaylen Brown into an uber-efficient, hybrid scorer/playmaker/primary defender role, Neemias Queta as an athletic anchor, and Derrick White as apparently a top-5 player with analytical ethical ball.

Mark Daigneault, Oklahoma City Thunder

Vegas preseason win projection: 62.5
Current record: 57-15 (6th in offense, 1st in defense)

When Vegas made its projections for a Thunder team fresh off winning a title, continuity was assumed. Explain that to a Thunder team that has Cason Wallace and Isaiah Joe as its two most-played guys. Jalen Williams has appeared in just 27 games this season, Isaiah Hartenstein has played in 40 — which ranks 15th and 11th on the roster, respectively. Daigneault’s Finals-winning lineup has played 52 minutes across six games! How he’s responded to his lack of player availability is by extracting an All-Defensive season out of Wallace, developing Jaylin Williams into a reliable floor spacer, creating a solid secondary creator in Ajay Mitchell, and having all roads lead back to SGA, who has had just about as fine of a potential repeat season as any former MVP.

Charles Lee, Charlotte Hornets

Vegas preseason win projection: 27.5
Current record: 38-34 (5th in offense, 13th in defense)

The Hornets were destined for another season rooted in mediocrity, but Lee sold his vision on making Charlotte an offensive juggernaut and viable defensive unit. Since Jan. 1, the Hornets lead the league in point differential, have won 27 of 39 games and sport the No. 1 offense and No. 5 defense in that span, per Cleaning the Glass. Expand that to all season and the Hornets are just outside the top-five in net rating.

Lee has convinced the likes of LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges and Brandon Miller to accept lesser roles within the overall structure for the betterment of the group, and has rookie Kon Knueppel as a real threat to snatch Rookie of the Year from Cooper Flagg. How many folks could predict that the Ball-Bridges-Miller-Knueppel-Moussa Diabate lineup would score 136.7 points per 100 possessions, with a +28.4 in differential? I’ll hang up and listen.

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