Rick Carlisle says he’s fortunate to continue coaching Tyrese Haliburton after his breakout campaign in 2023-24.
Besides a few friends, no one will tell Rick Carlisle he’s getting old. But the calendar doesn’t lie. When Carlisle sat down for his first coaching job next to Bill Fitch in New Jersey in 1989-90, one of their point guards was Leon Wood, who has been an NBA referee for the past 28 years.
And of the 35 fellows who served as head or interim coaches in 2001-02, Carlisle’s first season steering the Detroit Pistons, only Doc Rivers and Gregg Popovich still are standing in those roles.
Carlisle, 64, is the all-time leader in regular-season victories for two NBA franchises, the Dallas Mavericks (555) and the Indiana Pacers (288). He ranks 12th with 943 overall — five more than legendary Boston coach Red Auerbach (938), one behind his mentor Fitch (944) and 57 shy of becoming only the 11th to reach 1,000.
Nothing tops 2011 when Carlisle led Dallas to its sole NBA championship by upsetting the heavily favored Miami Heat.
But one of his most satisfying springs came this past season when his Pacers squad, jelling after All-Star week, pushed past Milwaukee and New York in seven-game series. Indiana triumphed both times by 21 and 22 points, respectively.
Carlisle is back for more, not just as Pacers coach but as President of the National Basketball Coaches Association. It’s a role he has held now for 19 seasons, nearly half of the organization’s 48-year history. He spoke with NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner at the group’s recent meetings in Chicago:
NBA.com: You’re approaching your third decade as NBCA president. Did you ever imagine being involved so long?
Carlisle: Well, this is my 19th. Next year will be my 20th. That will be my last year. I’ve told these guys it will be time for someone new, to hand off to them. … It’s usually a three-year term. There was a transition period from David [Stern] to Adam [Silver as NBA commissioners], so I just sort of stayed on.
Can you recall any differences from when you took over to now? As far as coaches’ conditions, salaries, benefits or however else you’d measure success? We know the average salary has doubled, tripled, even quadrupled since then.
Well, when I first took over in 2005, the big issue was our pension. It had gone for many years without an increase. It was a difficult topic. We had to figure out a way to convince ownership that this was the right time for that to happen.
Mickey Arison from the Miami Heat was the chairman of the Board of Governors at that time. We had a great meeting with him, and he helped us carry the flag. That fall, we got the first increase we’d had in like 15 years. That was in 2007 and since then we’ve had a couple pension increases. Our pension has taken on a different form, but it’s the best for any professional coaching association.
Over these 19 years, the relationship we’ve developed with the league has been so important. It’s been a joy getting to know David [Stern] so well and now Adam. And so many others on a wide variety of issues.
Are coaches’ voices as a group, their viewpoints, heard better now?
Over the years, we’ve really worked it and we’ve had the opportunity to meet with Adam privately. Last year there were three things that were important to us — I don’t want to mention what they were but two have been accomplished and the third is in process. It’s important to keep the conversations going.
Has there been any discussion of getting coaches back in suits on game nights?
I had a feeling there’d be a question about dress. For now, we’re going to stay in [casual attire]. Really, the NBA has been a leader in this area. You see that college [basketball] has very much comported. Not 100% but in large part. And it’s kind of become the corporate way, too. Things have gotten more casual. I’m sure studies have been done that people work more effectively when their clothing is more comfortable. I’m not 100% sure of that, but that’s what I’m told.
I recall Bobby Knight and Rick Majerus as pioneers with their sweaters in college.
Those two guys were definitely a big part of it. Then when we went into the bubble, the circumstance and conditions were quite different. That’s where we began wearing polos, quarter zips, etc. It’s worked out well for Nike, who is one of the league’s sponsors. The swoosh is always displayed.
It’s made packing for road trips one heckuva lot easier.
Things change. Back when Don Nelson was in Milwaukee, he got in trouble with Stern for wearing black Nikes instead of dress shoes, with the white swoosh on the sides.
He put white tape over them, right? That was Nellie at his greatest.
Tell us about the Pacers this season. You appear to have arguably the deepest roster in the league.
I love our group. Depth played an important part for us last year, getting to the playoffs where we were able to advance a couple rounds. We’re just fortunate to have great people who play hard and play the right way.
We’re going to have to continue that this year coming off some unexpected success. We’ve put a target on our backs, which is fine. But we’re going to have to make sure we keep the same edge.
How will you benefit from having Pascal Siakam for training camp and a full season?
Having Paskal from Day 1 will be huge. Our front office was able to get the majority of our players re-signed, our free agents. We’ve got a tough schedule out of the gate – our first 10 or 12 games are road-heavy — so we’ll have our hands full.
What will be essential for Benedict Mathurin to return from shoulder surgery and find his role back in your rotation?
He’s such a competitor. He watched as the team had success in the playoffs and he saw what was important. Things that will be key for him are playing with speed, [making] quick decisions offensively and 3-point shooting. Defensively, we’re going to need him to play physical and be willing to take on difficult matchups. If he does those things … we already know the kind of ability that he has.
You’d get to build a defense around guys like Aaron Nesmith, Myles Turner and potentially Mathurin.
One of the things we’ve talked to Ben about constantly is that we’re going to coach him hard to be the best two-way player he can be. When you have the tools that he has, you’ve got to do everything possible to take advantage of that.
Last year, I asked you about Tyrese Haliburton’s talents translating into team success. Well, that happened. He had a breakout year and you reached the conference finals. So what’s next for him?
I mean, he just turned 24 years old. So he’s still very young. The challenge is, when you’ve had success, you want to stack more success on top of it. He’s a guy who the other team really concentrates on. They play physically against him. They do everything possible to disrupt him. He’s got the challenge of going against the other team’s best perimeter defender just about every night.
Last year, he dealt with some injury stuff. This summer he worked hard on his body. Getting stronger and hopefully becoming more and more durable. I know that’s been a focus of his. And his experience with the Olympic team this summer has to give him a lot of confidence.
His limited playing time in Paris didn’t matter?
He played some. But just being a part of it, being in the gym every day with Curry, Durant, James — some of the greatest players of all time — and seeing the kinds of things they do on a day-to-day basis. Talking to them about what was important to them at the stage he’s at in his career. All of that stuff, you can’t put a price on that.
What does the Indiana Fever mean to your fans and market? It’s as if the enthusiasm of the Pacers’ season fed right into Caitlin Clark’s arrival and the WNBA season.
I’m a big fan. We still have a home in Dallas and we were there for a lot of the summer, and four days ago I went to the Fever game against the Wings. It was a hell of a game. A great game. The Fever were down nine in the third quarter and they fought back, and Kelsey Mitchell, Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston all made great plays, and they won by seven. Every arena they go into is an energized happening. It’s really cool.
Tyrese always is [courtside at Fever home games]. She’s come to some of ours. She’s been a great ambassador for our city.
Tyrese Haliburton congratulates Caitlin Clark after she dropped her second career triple-double in the @IndianaFever's win tonight 🙌 pic.twitter.com/ve6Lmk6Nnr
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) September 5, 2024
Caitlin has had a great year. Angel Reese [had] a great year. You can make a case that them coming into the WNBA is a little like Bird and Magic coming in in 1979. The NBA took off with those guys entering the league the way the WNBA is taking off with those two players.
* * *
Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA, its clubs or Warner Bros. Discovery.
