Cavalier fire coach J.B. Bickerstaff after three seasons

Victor Petkov

Head of Content

Last Updated: May 23 | 3:37 PM

4 min read

Cavalier fire coach J.B. Bickerstaff after three seasons

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He led the team to its first Easter Conference semis in six years

The Cleveland Cavaliers fired head coach J.B. Bickerstaff on Thursday after three consecutive winning seasons.

Bickerstaff, 45, had a 170-159 record since taking over from John Beilein in February 2020. Despite leading the team to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the first time in six years this season, the Cavaliers were defeated by the Boston Celtics in five games, with injuries playing a significant role in the series.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have dismissed J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach, it was announced today by Cavaliers President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

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— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 23, 2024

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Bickerstaff’s tenure began with a challenging 22-50 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. However, the team showed significant improvement, finishing 44-38 in the 2021-22 season, 51-31 in the 2022-23 season, and 48-34 this season. The Cavaliers earned the East’s No. 4 seed this season and secured a playoff series victory against the Orlando Magic, marking their first playoff series win since LeBron James led the team to four straight NBA Finals appearances from 2015 to 2018.

“J.B. is a well-respected NBA coach and an incredible human being,” said Koby Altman, president of basketball operations. “Over the past four years, he helped establish a culture that progressively drove players to become the best versions of themselves. Decisions like these are never easy, particularly when you look back at where this franchise rebuild started under his leadership.”

The Cavaliers’ playoff run was hampered by injuries, with All-Star Donovan Mitchell missing the last two games against the Celtics and center Jarrett Allen missing the entire series. Despite these setbacks, the team showed resilience and promise under Bickerstaff’s leadership.

Before his stint with Cleveland, Bickerstaff coached the Houston Rockets to a 37-34 record in the 2015-16 season and the Memphis Grizzlies to a 48-97 record from 2017 to 2019.