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Over the past two years in the Motor City, Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has acquitted himself quite well for his ability to completely turn around the squad and establish a winning culture on the team. At first Bickerstaff tripled the team’s regular season win total for the 2024-25 campaign, then he proceeded to help the Pistons take another leap forward to a 60-win season that was good enough to secure the top seed in the Eastern Conference last year.
As a result of that success and his unquestioned hoops pedigree, Bickerstaff was recently named as an assistant coach for Team USA, which is an honor that the Detroit general does not take lightly.
“It means a lot to be a part of USA Basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s the ultimate commitment to your country, to your team, to the sport of basketball. Extremely excited to be a part of it, excited to be asked to be a part of it. I understand the significance of it, the responsibility that comes with it and I’m looking forward to it. These are things that you dream about growing up. You want to be a part of the Olympics in some way, shape or form. To be able to be an assistant coach with coach Spo at USA Basketball just means a ton to me, and I’m looking forward to it.”
With Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat leading the way, Bickerstaff will serve on the team alongside Mark Few and Mark Diagneault to round out the national team’s bench. All three coaches have achieved a lot in the basketball world over the past several years in both the professional and collegiate realm, so Team USA is slated to have a series of coaches with diverse experience and a track record of winning basketball.
“We’re really excited about it,” Spoelstra said. “We wanted to try to zero in on this a little bit earlier in the process so we can start to get more organized and start to have some level of communication and continuity. The earlier the better, so I’m really excited about that.”
With the Olympic Games on the docket for the not-too-distant future, Team USA will enter the competition with a lot of experience to guide the squad, which is a group that will almost assuredly include Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham. But more than that, there is a chance that All-Star center Jalen Duren will be selected to the national team, so Bickerstaff might have the opportunity to coach two of his players in the Olympics, just like he did mid-year at the 2026 All-Star Game.
In that scenario, the trio of Bickerstaff, Cunningham and Duren were on the winning side of the three-team equation, so they will undoubtedly aim for a similar level of success on the world’s stage moving forward.
Apart from that Detroit influence, Grant Hill is currently the Managing Director for Team USA, so the Pistons will have their fingerprints all over the team in one way or another.
For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage, but while you’re here, join Pistons Roundtable for FREE and become a contributing member to our community today. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.
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As a result of that success and his unquestioned hoops pedigree, Bickerstaff was recently named as an assistant coach for Team USA, which is an honor that the Detroit general does not take lightly.
“It means a lot to be a part of USA Basketball,” Bickerstaff said. “It’s the ultimate commitment to your country, to your team, to the sport of basketball. Extremely excited to be a part of it, excited to be asked to be a part of it. I understand the significance of it, the responsibility that comes with it and I’m looking forward to it. These are things that you dream about growing up. You want to be a part of the Olympics in some way, shape or form. To be able to be an assistant coach with coach Spo at USA Basketball just means a ton to me, and I’m looking forward to it.”
With Erik Spoelstra of the Miami Heat leading the way, Bickerstaff will serve on the team alongside Mark Few and Mark Diagneault to round out the national team’s bench. All three coaches have achieved a lot in the basketball world over the past several years in both the professional and collegiate realm, so Team USA is slated to have a series of coaches with diverse experience and a track record of winning basketball.
“We’re really excited about it,” Spoelstra said. “We wanted to try to zero in on this a little bit earlier in the process so we can start to get more organized and start to have some level of communication and continuity. The earlier the better, so I’m really excited about that.”
With the Olympic Games on the docket for the not-too-distant future, Team USA will enter the competition with a lot of experience to guide the squad, which is a group that will almost assuredly include Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham. But more than that, there is a chance that All-Star center Jalen Duren will be selected to the national team, so Bickerstaff might have the opportunity to coach two of his players in the Olympics, just like he did mid-year at the 2026 All-Star Game.
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Cade Cunningham: The Next Face Of USA BasketballDetroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham may be in line for a feature role on Team USA moving forward In that scenario, the trio of Bickerstaff, Cunningham and Duren were on the winning side of the three-team equation, so they will undoubtedly aim for a similar level of success on the world’s stage moving forward.
Apart from that Detroit influence, Grant Hill is currently the Managing Director for Team USA, so the Pistons will have their fingerprints all over the team in one way or another.
For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage, but while you’re here, join Pistons Roundtable for FREE and become a contributing member to our community today. Also be sure to look up Roundtable - Michigan Men Media on Facebook for continued social media coverage of all the sporting teams in the Mitten.
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