Carlisle to step down as coaches’ boss, Bickerstaff to take over NBCA role

Rick Carlisle
December 2025

Rick Carlisle will end a 20-year run as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association at month’s end, with Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff elected as his successor, as Carlisle nears his 1,000th NBA coaching win and shifts focus fully back to team duties. Praising Bickerstaff as a trusted leader who has stabilised difficult situations in Memphis, Cleveland and Detroit, Carlisle called the new role “life-changing” and also used the moment to champion Bernie Bickerstaff’s Hall of Fame case, highlighting the Bickerstaff family’s long-standing impact on coaching and front-office culture.