NBA Coach of the Year Odds: Pistons' JB Bickerstaff Holds Slim Lead over Celtics' Joe Mazulla in Final Days
The NBA regular season is wrapping up, but the Coach of the Year race is heating up in the last two weeks. JB Bickerstaff of the Pistons has been leading throughout with a strong turnaround of Detroit, but Joe Mazulla is hot on his heels as the Celtics keep winning. Peter Alexis analyzes where the NBA Coach of the Year award might wind up for 2026.
Peter Alexis - March 30, 2026, 6:10 PM EDT
4 Minute ReadNBA Coach of the Year Odds: Can JB Bickerstaff Hold Off Joe Mazulla in COTY Race Final Weeks?
With two weeks left in the NBA regular season, the Coach of the Year market has narrowed into a two-man race. J.B. Bickerstaff is the favorite at -200, while Joe Mazzulla sits right behind him at +210, with the gap still meaningful but hardly decisive. The rest of the board trails well behind, including Mitch Johnson at +1500, who has forced his way into the conversation with the Spurs’ late surge.
Bickerstaff still feels like the rightful leader because Detroit has gone from years of unrealized young talent to the top of the Eastern Conference in just his second season on the job. But Mazzulla has made this much tighter by keeping Boston near the top of the league despite long stretches without Jayson Tatum, and Johnson has emerged as the clear longshot after helping San Antonio catch fire in the West. The final two weeks matter, and the margins here are thinner than they first appear.
Looking for advanced AI predictions and props to enhance your NBA betting? Try out oddschecker+ now on this limited time 7-day free trial!
NBA Coach of the Year Odds
Click here for complete NBA Coach of the Year Odds
NBA Coach of the Year Odds Breakdown
JB Bickerstaff (-200) Check out these best Coach of the Year odds at DraftKings Sportsbook
Bickerstaff’s case starts with the standings. Detroit is 54-20 and sitting in first place in the East, even after playing recently without Cade Cunningham, who has missed time with a collapsed lung. The Pistons have kept winning anyway, including recent victories over New Orleans and Minnesota, and they have now won six of their last seven. For a franchise that had spent the better part of a decade cycling through young talent without turning it into real team success, this season has been a breakthrough.
That is why Bickerstaff should still win. This is not just a good team getting slightly better. This is a complete organizational shift. Detroit has found structure, accountability, and an identity, and the roster finally looks connected instead of merely promising. The Pistons have even held first in the East while missing their star guard, which only strengthens the coaching argument. When a team makes that kind of leap and sustains it over a full season, it is usually exactly what this award is meant to recognize.
Joe Mazulla (+210) Check out these best Coach of the Year odds at DraftKings Sportsbook
Mazzulla’s case is harder to ignore than the odds might suggest. Boston is 50-24, in second place in the East, and only four games behind Detroit despite spending most of the year without Jayson Tatum before his recent return. The Celtics have kept rolling through injuries elsewhere too, recently beating Charlotte and Atlanta while shorthanded and proving again that the system holds even when key pieces are unavailable.
What stands out most is how steady Boston has remained. The Celtics are 8-1 in games without Jaylen Brown, just reached their 50th win, and have kept one of the league’s clearest identities on both ends of the floor despite major lineup disruption. That reflects directly on Mazzulla, who continues to show how well connected his team is to his scheme and expectations. If Detroit slips at all in the final two weeks and Boston keeps charging, this could become a real coin-flip race by the end.
Mitch Johnson (+1500) Check out these best Coach of the Year odds at DraftKings Sportsbook
Johnson is still a longshot, but he deserves mention because San Antonio has become one of the best stories in the league. The Spurs are 56-18, in second place in the West, have won eight straight, and are 13-1 over their last 14. That kind of late-season surge has pushed them from exciting young team to legitimate playoff threat, and Johnson has played a major role in guiding that jump in his first full year leading the group.
Of course, having Victor Wembanyama helps. But Johnson has done more than just hand the ball to a superstar. He has helped bring along young players like Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper, built confidence in the supporting cast, and created a team that looks far more organized and dangerous than many expected. The award probably comes down to Bickerstaff or Mazzulla, but Johnson fits the same modern trend: a young coach quickly unlocking a roster that others had not fully figured out before.
NBA ODDS
Affiliate Disclosure.
We are not a gambling or betting operator, but we receive a commission from these companies when we advertise their brands and refer customers to them (affiliate marketing). We provide information, odds information and links to websites of these companies. Some of the information made available on our site may be positioned as a result of a commission paid to us by a third party. We do not take or place bets/transactions and any information on Our Products is provided for entertainment purposes only.
