Pacers reward coach Carlisle with mulityear contract extension

INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers rewarded coach Rick Carlisle with a multiyear contract extension Tuesday following the team's surprising run to the NBA Finals.

Team officials made the announcement about a 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," president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard said in a 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. He first took the 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 and most successful 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 from the Dallas job, and a 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 over the past two seasons. Indiana reached the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in a decade in 2024, and, last season, made its first Finals appearance since 2000. It 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. 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's Doc Rivers, has more victories than Carlisle, who led the Pacers past the Bucks in first-round playoff series in 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 1986 champion Boston Celtics.

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.

Agencies via Xinhua