The Detroit Pistons are now on a two-game losing streak following their 113-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.
The Pistons battled hard against the team with the best record in the West but ultimately came up short. Detroit head coach J.B. Bickerstaff was proud of how his team competed, but he was unhappy with how the game was officiated.
Bickerstaff went on an incredible rant in his postgame press conference, which ended with him slamming the table and storming out. He was fuming about how his players had been disrespected and didn’t intend to keep quiet about it any longer.
“I’m disgusted by the way that game was officiated,” Bickerstaff said, via Eric Vincent of ClutchPoints. “The level of disrespect was above and beyond. They have a guy fall down and trip on his own teammate’s foot. They review us for a hostile act. They throw an elbow to our chest/neck area. I asked for him, at least take a look at it. Just show us the respect to take a look at it. No one would take a look at it.”
Bickerstaff stated he would no longer tolerate his players being treated the way they were by the officials on the night. He admitted that the Pistons, as a team, play on the edge and are very physical, but he expressed his belief that they deserve more respect.
“Our young players are competing their tail off,” Bickerstaff added. “The least that they could do is get the same respect that everybody else in this league gets and get refereed the same way that everybody else in this league gets reffed. And enough is enough of it. And what you saw tonight was disgusting. It was a disgusting display of disrespect towards our guys and what we’re trying to do.”
JB Bickerstaff did not hold back at all….here are his thoughts on the officiating from tonight’s game…watch the whole thing #Pistons pic.twitter.com/kFw75E1oxQ
— Eric Vincent (@IAmEricVincent) March 16, 2025
NBA fans have seen head coaches rant about the officials a lot this season, but this was easily the most fiery one of the lot. Bickerstaff did not mince words, and he’s likely to pay the price for it with a hefty fine.
The Pistons certainly had reasons to be upset with the officials. Some calls did not go their way, and they were assessed five technical fouls in the third quarter. Their star guard, Cade Cunningham, received two in succession and was kicked out of the game.
Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Beating the Thunder is hard enough, and when your best player gets ejected, it becomes an almost impossible task. The Pistons fought valiantly, though, and even cut the Thunder’s lead down to 101-100 late in the fourth quarter.
The offense stalled without Cunningham in the final minutes, however. The Pistons just couldn’t keep pace with the Thunder and have now dropped to 37-31 this season.