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The Indiana Pacers rewarded coach Rick Carlisle with a multiyear contract extension Tuesday following the team’s surprising run to the NBA Finals and within one game of the championship.
Team officials, confirming earlier media reports, made the announcement about one month before the Pacers open training camp. The Pacers provided no additional details about contract terms.
“Since his return to the Pacers in 2021, coach Carlisle has been integral to our success, which includes leading us to consecutive Eastern Conference finals appearances and our first NBA Finals appearance in 25 years,” Kevin Pritchard, president of basketball operations, said in a written statement. “Beyond his coaching achievements that rank him among the best in NBA history, coach Carlisle continues to embrace our community and give back to the state of Indiana with his Drive and Dish program.”
The 65-year-old Carlisle seems to be rejuvenated in his second stint with the Pacers. After serving as assistant coach under Larry Bird during the Pacers’ 2000 NBA Finals run, Carlisle first took the head Indiana job in 2003-04. Four seasons later, he was fired.
After taking a year off from coaching, the New York state native was hired by the Dallas Mavericks. Carlisle became the longest-tenured coach and winningest coach in franchise history, going 555-478 in 13 seasons while leading the Mavs to the NBA crown in 2010-11.
In June 2021, he stepped down in Dallas and one week later was hired by the Pacers for one big reason.
“Herb Simon, the Simon family, Steven Rales, Kevin Pritchard and our players make Indiana such a special place. Let’s go!” Carlisle said, referring to the team owners and management.
The Pacers struggled in his first two seasons back in the organization, going 60-114 during yet another attempt by Indiana to rebuild around a group of young players.
But as Carlisle adapted his coaching style to play at a faster, more aggressive pace, it paid dividends each of the past two seasons. Indiana reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in a decade in 2024 and last season made their first Finals appearance since 2000. They forced Oklahoma City to Game 7, but couldn’t close out the series after two-time All-Star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn Achilles tendon in the first quarter of the final game.
Haliburton is expected to miss all of next season as he recovers.
In eight seasons with the Pacers, Carlisle has gone 338-318 and 41-34 in the playoffs. The Pacers are 157-171 in the regular season in Carlisle’s latest stint as coach and 97-67 over the past two seasons. He’s recorded the most wins in the franchise’s NBA history and starts this season needing seven wins to become the 11th NBA coach with 1,000 career wins.
Only one active coach, Milwaukee coach Doc Rivers, has more victories than Carlisle, who led the Pacers past the Bucks in first-round playoff series each of the past two years.
He grew up in New York, near the Canadian border, played college basketball at Virginia and was a teammate of Hall of Famer Larry Bird on the Boston Celtics 1986 title team.
Carlisle also was an assistant on Bird’s coaching staff when the Pacers made their first Finals appearance and has become a fan favorite in his adopted hometown.
“We are thrilled to have him continue leading our team and representing our organization well into the future,” Pritchard said.
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Best coach in the league. Congrats, Coach.
We are certainly lucky to have such a seasoned veteran leading our franchise. He has created a team that is just simply fun to watch. I have heard that from so many outside of the Indianapolis market, many who are just marginal NBA fans but all were paying attention to our run to the finals.
65 is the new 45