"Our guys aren't out here bluffing" - J.B. Bickerstaff shares how the physical style of his Pistons was forged

The Detroit Pistons have been the biggest surprise of the 2025-26 NBA season. Following a breakthrough campaign the last time out, many expected the Pistons to continue improving this year. However, the Pistons have exceeded expectations and have emerged as the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Not only are the Pistons playing well this season, but they have also established a tough guy identity that Detroit basketball fans know too well. Because of that, they have also rallied their fan base behind them in what is shaping up to be an exciting year in “Motown.”

Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff discussed how this physical style of play evolved during his recent appearance on the “Run it Back” show on FDTV.

“It’s the make-up of the guys that we have here, one. But two, also when you come into a new team, you wanna stay the history of the team and understand what the fanbase has embraced, what the fanbase loved about their team, and when you come to Detroit, it’s obvious, going back to the Bad Boys, to the next group – The Best 5 Alive with Rasheed Wallace and that group and Ben Wallace, and all those guys,” the HC said.

“You study that, and you understand what the fans are looking for, and to the best of your ability, you try to recreate that. And I think that’s what we’ve done here,” added Bickerstaff.

Searching for an identity

The Pistons have been in the league since 1941, during their NBL days. However, their tenure in American professional basketball has been marked by long periods of mediocrity. As Bickerstaff mentioned, their best years came with the “Bad Boys,” when they won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990, and in 2004, when the “Best Five Alive” upset the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals.

Both eras were marked by physical teams that played tough, and in the case of the Bad Boys, borderline dirty defense. However, since the 2004 team disbanded, they have been searching for an identity to jump-start a new era. J.B. unlocked it.

“You can’t do it if the personalities of the team doesn’t fit it, and our personalities fit it. Like we do have guys who like to get nasty, who do like to mix it up, who do like to make people uncomfortable and see how they respond. And it’s a real thing. Our guys aren’t out here bluffing. It is what it is, so being able to do that and have the skillset that the guys have, it plays right into it,” Bickerstaff pointed out.

Detroit basketball is back

Talent-wise, the Pistons already had their young core when Bickerstaff entered the picture. The Pistons traded for Isaiah Stewart in 2020, drafted Cade Cunningham in 2021, picked Jaden Ivy and acquired Jalen Duren in 2022, and then selected Ausar Thompson in the 2023 Draft. What he did first was surround his young guys with veterans in Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley and Tim Hardaway Jr.

Detroit won 44-38 last season and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. Hardaway and Beasley are now gone, but J.B. countered with Duncan Robinson and Caris LeVert, who are key contributors to the current team. With their young guys providing the toughness and energy, the Pistons have the second-best record in the league, after the incredible Oklahoma City Thunder.

“The vibes are unbelievable in our locker room, in our city, in the building. People are so excited that we are back to playing a level of basketball that this city deserves, and it’s a ton of credit to our guys, the way that they go and compete every single night, the way they scrap, the way they fight, how they compete,” Bickerstaff added.

For the fans, that was a good explanation from Bickerstaff. But for the other 29 teams, take that as a warning. The Pistons aren’t here just to look and feel good. They want to stay here at the very top. And with the way they are playing right now, it looks like they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the years to come.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 9, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“Our guys aren’t out here bluffing” – J.B. Bickerstaff shares how the physical style of his Pistons was forged

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