NBA Coach of the Year Odds: Who is the Favorite?

The Detroit Pistons are currently +2500 to win the NBA title, but started the season +5000 to capture the Larry O’Brien Trophy. What that shows is a team that vastly exceeded expectations, and it’s the reason head coach JB Bickerstaff is in the driver’s seat to win the NBA Coach of the Year award.

Bickerstaff is currently -250 to win the trophy at Fanatics Sportsbook. Boston’s Joe Mazzulla still has a decent shot at it as he owns +220 odds, and San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson is a longshot at this point with a +2500 number.

J.B. Bickerstaff NBA Coach of the Year odds (-250)
Win totals give you a great glimpse into what the national perspective was towards a certain team prior to the start of a season. The Pistons had a projected win total of 45.5 this past October, which meant the national consensus was that Detroit would be a fringe playoff team.

Fast-forward to April 9, and the Pistons have the No. 1 seed locked up in the East. They are 58-22 on the season.

This is the second-straight season that Bickerstaff has greatly outperformed expectations. Two years ago, the Pistons went 14-68 under then-head coach Monty Williams. Bickerstaff took over in July of 2024. The Pistons improved by an incredible 30 games as they went 44-38 in the 2024-25 season.

Bickerstaff’s most impressive work this season has come when Detroit was without the services of their best player, Cade Cunningham. Bickerstaff has guided the Pistons to a 14-5 record in games Cunningham was unavailable.

Joe Mazzulla NBA Coach of the Year odds (+220)
It’s easy to forget now, but there were NBA pundits who thought the Celtics should punt on the 2025-26 season. Boston was thought to be in something of a mini-rebuild with Jayson Tatum expected to miss most, if not all of the season. Brad Stevens had also traded away starters Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis last summer in an effort to appease new Boston owner Bill Chisholm by getting under the luxury tax line.

Mazzulla clearly cherished the Celtics’ new underdog status.

Derrick White said on “The Old Man and The Three” podcast that Mazzulla gave him a five-second phone call on his birthday last July. White said Mazzulla called him up and gave him the following message before quickly hanging up:

“Happy birthday, man … Everybody thinks we’re going to suck. I love it.”

The Celtics went 2-2 to open the season, but then rattled off 13 straight wins as Jaylen Brown became a legit MVP candidate. Tatum is now back, and the Celtics are the 2 seed in the East heading into the playoffs.

Mitch Johnson NBA Coach of the Year odds
Victor Wembanyama has filled the shoes of Tim Duncan as the Spurs’ franchise cornerstone as San Antonio looks like it will be an NBA force for the next 10-15 years. It’s still very early, but Johnson could be Gregg Popovich 2.0 and be guiding this next great Spurs run.

San Antonio entered this season with a 43.5 win total projection. Johnson and the Spurs eclipsed that number by March 3, and now have 61 wins in the bank.

San Antonio will be the 2 seed in the highly competitive Western Conference.

NBA Coach of the Year history
The NBA Coach of the Year award typically goes to coaches of teams that greatly exceed pre-season expectations.

That was the case last year, as Kenny Atkinson transformed a 48-win Cavaliers team into a 64-win team in his first season on the Cleveland bench.

Oklahoma City’s Mark Daigneault won the award in 2023-24 as the Thunder made the jump from a 40-win team to a 57-win team.

Here is a look at the NBA Coach of the Year award winners from the past 10 years.