Former Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff Reflects On ‘Successful’ Season

The former Cleveland head coach described why he believes the Wine and Gold had a “successful” 2023-24 season in a recent radio interview.

Feb 5, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff reacts in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers are currently in search of a new head coach after parting ways with J.B. Bickerstaff back on May 23.

The 45-year-old finished top-five in the NBA Coach of the Year Award voting twice during his time with the Wine and Gold.

In a recent interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Bickerstaff was asked if he believed his final campaign at the helm was a successful one.

“There’s no doubt about it [it] was successful. Our responsibility was to accomplish more than we did the year before, no matter how you do it. That’s what it’s about, right? All the things that we went through as far as injuries, and those types of things, and kind of mismatched situations where you never knew who was going to be playing, what your rotations were going to be. To find a way to keep continuity and to jell. You can go through the numbers and look at the other teams that had as many games missed due to injury as we did, and none of them compare to where we were able to finish.”

- J.B. Bickerstaff

Feb 5, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff reacts in the second quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. / David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cavaliers indeed dealt with their fair share of injuries. During the regular season, Darius Garland (fractured jaw) and Evan Mobley (left knee surgery) each missed over a month. Then, in the postseason, Jarrett Allen missed Cleveland’s final eight contests with a pierced rib, and Donovan Mitchell missed the final two games with a left calf strain.

But despite these challenges, the Wine and Gold advanced to their first Eastern Conference Semifinals for the first time since 2018.

“What we did was successful, and, again, I’m proud of that,” Bickerstaff said. “I’m proud of our staff, and I appreciate the guys that were going out there to help us get it done.”