DETROIT >> This year marked the first time in a while that Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores could sleep well during the regular season.

Since taking over the franchise more than a decade ago, the Pistons arguably had their best season under Gores’ ownership. They underwent one of the best one-year turnarounds in league history, which included a 44-38 record while qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2019.

“I expected them to do well, but not this well,” Gores said ahead of the Pistons’ 116-113 Game 6 loss to the New York Knicks last week. “I am just really, really proud of them. This is a good basketball team. They are not lucky.”

Headlined by a career season from All-Star guard Cade Cunningham, Gores was pleased with the performances his players delivered nightly, but coach J.B. Bickerstaff was the main reason he could rest peacefully. After a nightmarish 14-win season under former coach Monty Williams, Gores understood early that Bickerstaff wasn’t just a coach who focused on wins and losses but also profoundly cared about the franchise as a whole.

“They gave me a renewed sense of purpose in this profession, and I can’t be more thankful or grateful to have been a part of this group,” Bickerstaff said. “I am grateful to be a part of this team and a part of this organization and to watch them revitalize a fan base the way that they did.

“To go from where we were at the beginning of the year to where we are now … (I’m) immensely proud of these guys for all the things that they’ve accomplished.”

Bickerstaff did a considerable job in his first season as the Pistons’ head coach. His accomplishments led to him finishing second in the NBA Coach of the Year race behind Cleveland Cavaliers’ Kenny Atkinson.

Less than a year after his abrupt firing from the Cavaliers last May, Bickerstaff’s second-place finish in one of the NBA’s most prestigious awards was unforeseen.

At the time of his departure as the Cavaliers head coach, he planned to take the season off while dabbling in broadcasting. Instead of spending the frigid winter nights in the Midwest, Bickerstaff and his family planned to move to the warmer weather of Southern California. His goal was less than 48 hours from coming to fruition when Trajan Langdon made a late-night phone call with the hope of setting up an interview.

Langdon desired a coach who possessed the communication, leadership, and vision attributes to restore the Pistons’ organization. His yearnings led to the hiring of Bickerstaff in one of his first moves as president of basketball operations.

“Bickerstaff was huge for us; I told everybody before he was like an uncle to us,” guard Malik Beasley said. “He feels like that cool uncle that obviously you want to listen to, and then, on practice days, he’s always catering to us. He’ll make the coaches switch and say, ‘It’s a players’ league’ and stuff like that. Coach J.B. is hilarious. He’s a great coach.”

Bickerstaff’s background in rebuilding teams in Cleveland and Memphis helped revitalize Detroit’s culture, and his schemes enabled several players to utilize their on-court strengths en route to career years.

Cunningham made an All-NBA leap this season, while Jalen Duren and Ausar Thompson made prominent steps into becoming two-way players.

Before going down with a season-ending injury, Jaden Ivey credited Bickerstaff for the trust he instilled in him for the leap he took amid his third year, with averages of 17.6 points per game on 46.0% shooting from the field and 40.9% on 3-point shooting in 30 games.

The improvements each player made under Bickerstaff’s stewardship reflected the five core values of competition, attention to detail, grit, one more, and togetherness — principles he held each player accountable to since training camp in early October.

“He has been amazing,” Cunningham said. “His X’s and O’s, putting us in the right position and allowing us to play to our strengths, is what allowed us to have the year that we had.

“The way that he has inspired us every day, the way that he has pushed us, I have never been a part of anything like that. He meant a lot to the whole group. We wanted to play hard for him every night. We could not ask for anything better than that. A coach who believes in you and pushes you at the same time.”

Under Bickerstaff, the Pistons made significant improvements in every statistical category when compared to the abysmal results of the previous year.

Detroit finished the regular season with the league’s 10th-best defense, with a defensive rating of 112.5. They held their opponents to 46.1% shooting and a scoring average of 113.6 points per game, ranking ninth and 14th, respectively.

On the offensive end, the Pistons finished 14th with a rating of 114.6. Detroit scored 115.5 points per game (12th) while shooting 47.6% from the field (13th).

The progress the Pistons made under Bickerstaff has Gores feeling optimistic about building on the team’s success this offseason. For the first time in his ownership, Bickerstaff’s success has Gores entering a peaceful summer that will not include uncertainty and turmoil.

“J.B. is a gift to us,” Gores said. “He has threaded the needle between energy, emotions and discipline. He invested very early in this team and every individual. I am very impressed.

“I’ll tell you this: I did not lose any sleep this year, knowing that J.B. was on the sidelines. That guy cares more than anyone else can care. I probably lost sleep worrying about him losing sleep. It’s a gratifying feeling.”