BOSTON (AP) — Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle will be stepping down as president of the National Basketball Coaches Association at the end of the month and Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff will replace him.
“I guess now might be a good time to announce, I decided about a year ago that this would be my last year," Carlisle said Monday night before the Pacers played in Boston. "This is my 20th year. My term will end at the end of this month. We’ve held our elections and the membership has made a tremendous and phenomenal choice to succeed me and that’s going to be J.B. Bickerstaff.”
The 66-year-old Carlisle is one win from the 1,000th of his coaching career. He spoke very highly of his soon-to-be replacement.
“J.B. is not only a trusted friend of mine and many, many coaches, he’s proven to be a great leader,” Carlisle said. ”He’s had to take over difficult situations in his career: interim coaching positions etc., etc.
“The job he did in Cleveland, taking that team from the lottery to winning in the playoffs was phenomenal. The job he’s done in Detroit the last year and a half speaks for itself. He’s a great leader and passionate guy for coaches.”
Bickerstaff, 46, started his coaching career with Charlotte as an assistant in 2004. He was an associate head coach with Memphis until becoming interim head coach on Nov. 27, 2017. He became the Grizzlies’ head coach on May 1, 2018.
In February 2020, he was promoted to Cleveland’s head coach after John Beilein resigned.
Bickerstaff was hired as Pistons coach on July 3, 2024.
“I congratulate J.B.,” Carlisle said. “This will be a life-changing experience for him. It has been for me.”
Bickerstaff’s father, Bernie, 81, was a longtime NBA coach before moving into front office roles. Carlisle said he’d like to see Bernie have his place in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
“We’re behind the scenes working trying to help Bernie be recognized by the Hall of Fame as a contributor,” Carlisle said. “There are so many ways that he influenced the game.”
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Detroit Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff shouts instruction to his team during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Friday, Dec. 12, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle questions a call as his team plays the New York Knicks during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/AJ Mast)
GALVESTON, Texas (AP) — A small Mexican Navy plane transporting a 1-year-old medical patient along with seven others, crashed Monday near Galveston, killing at least two people, officials said.
Emergency officials rescued four people and were searching for two that were inside the aircraft, Mexico’s Navy said in a statement to The Associated Press. Four of the people aboard were Navy officers and four were civilians, according to the Navy. It was not immediately clear which ones were missing and which had been killed.
The crash took place Monday near the base of a causeway near Galveston, along the Texas coast about 50 miles (80.5 kilometers) southeast of Houston.
Mexico’s Navy said in a statement that the plane was helping with a medical mission and had an “accident.” It promised to investigate the cause of the crash.
The Navy is helping local authorities with the search and rescue operation, it said in a post on the social media platform X.
Officials from the Federal Aviation Administration were expected to arrive at the scene of the crash, the Texas Department of Public Safety said on X.
The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office said officials from its dive team, crime scene unit, drone unit and patrol were responding to the crash.
“The incident remains under investigation, and additional information will be released as it becomes available,” the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook, adding that the public should avoid the area so emergency responders can work safely.
Galveston is an island that is a popular beach destination.
It's not immediately clear if weather was a factor. However, the area has been experiencing foggy conditions over the past few days, according to Cameron Batiste, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
He said that at about 2:30 p.m. Monday a fog came in that had about a half-mile visibility. The foggy conditions are expected to persist through Tuesday morning.
Emergency personnel rush a victim of a small plane crash to an awaiting ambulance, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, near the causeway, in Galveston, Texas. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Galveston Police officers watch the water on Galveston Bay west of the Galveston causeway, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, near Galveston, Texas, as emergency personnel search for a small airplane that went down in the bay in heavy fog. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
Emergency personnel rush a victim of a small plane crash to an awaiting ambulance, Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, near the Galveston causeway, near Galveston, Texas. (Jennifer Reynolds/The Galveston County Daily News via AP)
