Rick Carlisle finally exhaled Thursday night.
After watching his team endure a franchise-record 13-game losing streak and waiting a month to reach the milestone, the Indiana Pacers coach earned career victory No. 1,000 in a dramatic 114-112 win at Charlotte. Carlisle became the 11th coach in NBA history to reach the mark and the first since Doc Rivers did so in November 2021.
The Pacers closed the game by scoring the final five points in the last minute, and when the buzzer sounded, Carlisle’s dominant emotion was relief.
“I’m so happy for our players,” Carlisle said after embracing his assistants and players. “The last month has been so challenging in so many ways. We have an amazing group of guys who continue to fight through thick and thin.”
The final moments were agonizing. Pascal Siakam put Indiana ahead with a driving layup with 11.5 seconds remaining, then T.J. McConnell stole the ensuing inbounds pass. But Ben Sheppard split a pair of free throws, giving the Hornets a final chance to tie or win. Charlotte’s Collin Sexton missed a jumper in the closing seconds, allowing the Pacers to escape.
“Pascal Siakam is one of the most amazing players I have been around, and he put his stamp on things at the end,” Carlisle said.
The milestone came after a brutal stretch for an injury-depleted Indiana roster that seemed to find every possible way to lose — from blowouts to late-game collapses. On Thursday, the Pacers finally delivered a finish worthy of their coach’s reputation.
Carlisle’s success has been built on unwavering standards and an expectation to compete at the highest level. That approach helped him build lasting relationships — including a lifelong friendship with Larry Bird — and led three franchises to entrust him as head coach. He captured an NBA championship with Dallas in 2011.
To those who know him best, Carlisle’s place among the game’s elite was never in doubt.
“Obviously, he’s a Hall of Fame coach and I learned a lot from him,” New York Knicks coach Mike Brown, a former Carlisle assistant, said last week. “I’m extremely appreciative of him giving me the opportunity back in the day. Rick’s been great to me.”
Carlisle’s journey began in a small, hockey-centric town in upstate New York, where he had to drive to nearby bars just to watch NBA games. He played collegiately at Virginia alongside Ralph Sampson before joining the Boston Celtics, where he won an NBA title in 1985-86 with Bird and the late Bill Walton.
As a coach, Carlisle truly flourished. It took 23 full seasons and 38 games with the Pistons, Mavericks and two stints with the Pacers to reach 1,000 wins. His career record now stands at 1,000-891.
He arrived at the milestone not by chasing wins, but by staying true to his principles while evolving with the modern NBA. Once known for calling plays and publicly critiquing defensive lapses, Carlisle has increasingly trusted his players, including Tyrese Haliburton, who led Indiana to the NBA Finals last season. Rivers, now coaching Milwaukee, has taken note.
“I think all of us have had to change,” Rivers said during last spring’s playoffs. “Where Rick has always been good is he just coaches the team he has. With Haliburton, it became a case of winding them up and letting them go. That’s why he’s a sensational coach.”
Carlisle has coached long enough that all 10 other members of the 1,000-win club were active during his tenure.
“All of the guys on the list are guys that I know well,” Carlisle said. “I coached against them for many years and have great respect for them.”
The wait was unexpectedly long. Carlisle earned win No. 993 last April in a double-overtime victory at Cleveland to close the regular season and reached No. 999 exactly a month ago. In the seven months since, he experienced the highest highs and lowest lows of the Pacers’ recent history.
Indiana eliminated Milwaukee and top-seeded Cleveland, beat New York in seven games to reach the Eastern Conference finals and came within one win of the franchise’s first NBA title. But Carlisle also endured heartbreak — Haliburton’s torn Achilles in a Game 7 loss at Oklahoma City, Myles Turner’s free-agent departure and a wave of injuries that have left the Pacers at 7-31, the worst record in the league.
Over his career, Carlisle has coached stars such as Reggie Miller, Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Dončić, Jalen Brunson and Haliburton. He also navigated painful postseason exits in Indiana at the hands of legends like Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant, as well as the fallout from the 2004 Malice at the Palace — a moment that derailed what many believed could have been a championship run.
Now 66, Carlisle is a member of one of coaching’s most exclusive fraternities.
“This has never been about me getting a milestone win,” Carlisle said. “It’s about our organization and our franchise. As it has gotten tougher, I’ve leaned into gratitude for what we have — great people and terrific players.”
