J.B.Bickerstaff makes bold claim on Jaden Ivey's performance since return from injury

Detroit Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff has carefully managed the return of Jaden Ivey to the lineup, but has offered some positive thoughts since he has come back.

Ivey had nine points on 2-for-5 shooting in 14 minutes in Saturday’s narrow 138-135 victory over the Miami Heat to end a two-game losing streak. Not solid numbers when you first glance over, but when you understand the journey, the grit and determination it took for him to get here, the progress is extraordinary.

After breaking his left fibula in a game against the Orlando Magic on January 1, Ivey has been rehabbing and aiming to return stronger than ever. He returned on November 22 in the Pistons’ 129-116 win over the Milwaukee Bucks but it was in the win against the Heat, where Bickerstaff saw his true game shine.

“Tonight was his best night…He is only going to continue getting better.”

Bickerstaff speaks on Jaden Ivey’s performance against the Heat. Ivey has now played in five games since returning from injury on Nov 22. #Pistons pic.twitter.com/DI43U2V7Pd
— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) November 30, 2025

“Tonight was his best night,” Bickerstaff said about Ivey’s performance in the win against Miami, which ended their six-game winning run.

“Again, when you haven’t played professional basketball in 11 months, and you're on about a 15-minute restriction, you play smaller doses. It's not always going to be easy.

“For a guy to come back is just hard. Playing NBA basketball is hard. Finding your rhythm, finding your confidence, all those things is hard.

“But I think tonight, you show what he's capable of, his ability to attack the paint, make shots, help us be a pest defensively. So, if he's only going to continue to get better, and it's just going to take us some time.”

For Ivey, though, just being back on the floor and having to overcome such a deadly injury is a victory in itself.

“Obviously, everyone goes through trials in life,” Ivey said after his first game back last Sunday against the Bucks.

“This was needed for me to boost my patience and my perseverance. Lord willing, I don’t go through another trial like this, but if I do, it’s definitely going to help me.”

It was the most frightening of starts to 2025 for Ivey, as he suffered the injury against the Magic. With two minutes played in the fourth and Detroit up 84-79, Ivey and Orlando’s Cole Anthony were going for a loose ball when Anthony slipped and fell.

Anthony’s momentum carried him into Ivey’s planted leg, and the 23-year-old immediately fell to the floor, grabbing his left shin in agony.

After a lengthy delay, Ivey was placed on a stretcher and wheeled off the floor. He had surgery the next day and began his rehab shortly after.

Since his return, Ivey has averaged 8.2 points and 2.0 rebounds a game.