Rick Carlisle

After graduating in 1984 Carlisle was selected 70th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 1984 NBA draft, where he played alongside Larry Bird. Under Celtics' coach K. C. Jones he won the NBA championship in 1986 and lost in the finals in 1985 and 1987.

In a limited reserve role from 1984 to 1987 Carlisle averaged 2.2 points, 1.0 assists and 0.8 rebounds per game. He then played for the Albany Patroons of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) under Bill Musselman, being signed as a free agent by the New York Knicks, where he played under coach Rick Pitino alongside emerging star Patrick Ewing. In 1989, Carlisle played in five games with the New Jersey Nets under Bill Fitch.

For the 2001–02 season, Carlisle was hired by the Detroit Pistons to be their new head coach. In two seasons as Pistons' head coach, Carlisle led the team to consecutive 50–32 records (.610) with Central Division titles and playoff appearances. He was named Coach of the Year in 2002. However, the Pistons fired Carlisle after the 2002–03 season with a year remaining on his contract and hired Larry Brown. Friction between Carlisle and team ownership was cited as one of the primary reasons for the firing. Carlisle's Pistons had just dispatched Brown's Philadelphia 76ers in the Conference Semifinals before being swept by the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Carlisle with the Pacers in 2005

For the 2003–04 season, Carlisle returned to the Pacers as head coach (Isiah Thomas had been fired,[9] almost immediately after Larry Bird was brought back as the new President of Basketball Operations). In his first season, Carlisle led the Pacers to the Central Division title and NBA's best regular-season record at 61–21 (74.4%), setting a franchise record for wins (both in the NBA and ABA). In the playoffs, the team eliminated both the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, before losing to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals. That year, he coached the East All-Stars at the All-Star Game.[10] In 2005, the Pacers roster was decimated by injuries (most notably, those of Jermaine O'Neal, Stephen Jackson and Jamaal Tinsley) and suspensions that were meted out after the Pacers–Pistons brawl at The Palace of Auburn Hills, which resulted in Ron Artest being suspended for the rest of the season, Jackson being suspended for 30 games and O'Neal being suspended for 15 games. However, Carlisle was still able to rally the Pacers to the NBA Playoffs that season. As the sixth seed, they again defeated the Boston Celtics in the first round, before being defeated once again by the eventual Eastern Conference champion, the Detroit Pistons.

The Pacers slipped to a .500 record in 2005-06 and barely made the playoffs, losing in the first round. Despite this, Bird and Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh did not hold Carlisle responsible for the Pacers' lackluster performances in the past two seasons, and showed it in October 2006 when they signed Carlisle to a multiyear contract extension. The Pacers also gave him the additional title of executive vice president of basketball operations.[11]

After the Pacers finished the 2006–07 season with a 35–47 record (missing the playoffs for the first time since 1997), Bird fired Carlisle as head coach. Carlisle understood the decision, saying that the Pacers needed "a new voice." In four seasons with the Pacers, Carlisle compiled a 181–147 record.[12] The Pacers offered to let Carlisle stay on in the front office, but Carlisle also resigned that post on June 12, 2007.[13]

After leaving Indiana, Carlisle worked as a studio analyst for ESPN[14] before signing with the Dallas Mavericks as the team's new head coach.

Carlisle coaching the Mavericks in 2009

On May 9, 2008, Carlisle signed a four-year deal with Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks, replacing Avery Johnson.[15] He led them to a 50–32 record including a first round win against the San Antonio Spurs. They would lose to the Denver Nuggets 4–1 in the Western Conference Semifinals.[4][16] The next year, he coached the Mavs to a 55–27 record, first in Southwest Division and second in the West, but lost in the first round to the Spurs. In 2010, Dallas won sixteen of its first twenty games in a competitive Western Conference.

The 2010–11 season was Carlisle's most successful as a head coach. The Mavericks finished the regular season with a 57–25 win-loss record. On May 8, 2011, they swept the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals. On May 25, 2011, the Mavericks enjoyed a 4–1 series win over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals, the first Conference Finals victory of his coaching career. In the 2011 NBA Finals, he coached the Mavericks to a 4–2 series victory over the Miami Heat for the franchise's first championship.[17]

In the 2012 playoffs, the Mavericks lost 0–4 to Thunder in the first round. On May 15, 2012, Carlisle agreed to a new four-year deal with the Mavericks. In 2013, the Mavericks finished 41–41 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2000. In 2014, Carlisle led the Mavericks back to the playoffs as the eighth seed with a 49–33 record where they would meet their in-state rivals San Antonio Spurs in the first round. The Mavericks lost the series in seven games as the Spurs went on to win the 2014 NBA Finals.[18]

On January 30, 2015, he recorded his 600th win in a game against the Heat.[19] He signed a new five-year deal on November 5, 2015. Four days earlier, Carlisle recorded his 340th win as Mavericks coach, passing Don Nelson as the winningest coach in franchise history.[20]

On December 2, 2017, Carlisle recorded his 700th win in a game against the Los Angeles Clippers.[21]