JB Bickerstaff showed off his colorful vocabulary on Saturday night.
The Detroit Pistons head coach Bickerstaff was tossed from his team’s game against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter. Bickerstaff was upset about an offensive foul call against forward Ausar Thompson and let the refs know about it. The griping from Bickerstaff led to two technical fouls in very quick succession and an automatic ejection. Upon getting tossed, Bickerstaff made sure to get his money’s worth.
Bickerstaff was seen seemingly yelling, “Hey f–k you!” at the referee who gave him his second T and then “F–k yourself too!” at another referee. The F-bombs from Bickerstaff (along with some animated clapping gestures) continued as he made his way off the floor. Here is the video.
JB Bickerstaff has been ejected.
Go check my recent tweets and you’ll see why… pic.twitter.com/Z8KagiPbdO
— Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) January 26, 2025
It appears that Bickerstaff’s frustration steadily grew throughout the evening over multiple no-calls, including one sequence in the second half where Pistons star Cade Cunningham was knocked to the ground in a fight for loose ball but didn’t get a whistle.
I dare you to find a player with a worse whistle than Cade Cunningham.
pic.twitter.com/XCMDFWE8VT— Pistons Jack (@pistons_jack) January 26, 2025
Detroit ended up losing the game to Orlando 121-113, but they have still been one of the better stories in the NBA this season after going 14-68 last season. The Pistons now sit sixth in the East at a very respectable 23-22 in Bickerstaff’s first season in charge as the veteran coach is implementing a culture shift with both his fire on the sidelines and the rules he enforces.
