Rick Carlisle is signing a contract extension with the Indiana Pacers on the heels of their run to the 2025 NBA Finals.
According to multiple reports, Carlisle agreed earlier this week to his second extension in less than two years. Indiana won the Eastern Conference and lost the Finals in seven games to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pacers lost All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton to a torn Achilles in the seventh game of the series, and starting center Myles Turner joined the Milwaukee Bucks in free agency.
Carlisle said earlier this week the Pacers would be counting on Bennedict Mathurin to start in his third season and pointed to Johnny Furphy as a “seamless fit” in the offensive system who could break out.
Indiana won 50 games last season and entered the playoffs as the No. 4 seed. They eliminated the No. 5 seed Bucks and top-seeded Cavaliers to set up a series with the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference finals.
Carlisle has a career record of 993-860, which includes two stints with the Pacers. He has also coached the Detroit Pistons and Mavericks, winning the 2011 NBA Finals with Dallas.
A 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Carlisle was drafted by the Boston Celtics in the third round and also played for the Knicks and then-New Jersey Nets.
He went to the Finals three times with Boston and was on the roster for the NBA championship in 1986.
He is one of 14 to win an NBA title as a player and head coach.
The 65-year-old Carlisle played basketball at Virginia, advancing to the Final Four and dropping the national semifinal game to Houston in the 1984 NCAA Tournament.
–Field Level Media
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