Knicks Enemy Extends Head Coach

A New York State native (born in Ogdensburg and raised in Lisbon), Carlisle spent one season of a five-year playing career with the Knicks, playing 26 games in Manhattan during the 1987-88 campaign. He also had three years with the Boston Celtics (playing 77 games with the famed 1985-86 group) and five additional showings with the New Jersey Nets.

In modern Knick lore, however, Carlisle has been a bit of a villain, having overseen the end of each of the last two Manhattan seasons at the helm of the Pacers. Indiana won a seven-game set in the 2024 conference semifinals before spoiling the Knicks' first final four showing in a quarter-century this past spring. With that latter six-game win, the Pacers ended a 25-year drought of their own, reaching an NBA Finals that became a seven-game classic against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Carlisle, 65 is in the midst of his second stint with the Pacers, having previously led them for four seasons (2003-07) before moving onto Dallas. In North Texas, Carlisle earned another championship ring, as the Mavericks took down the Miami Heat in a six-game upset back in 2011. A lengthy stay in Dallas (2008-21) also had Carlisle overseeing the first NBA days of current Knicks star Jalen Brunson, a 2018 draft pick out of Villanova.

Since Carlisle's return to Indianapolis in 2021-22, the Pacers have won 23 playoff games, tied with the Knicks for the fifth-most in the Association in that span. Immediately adding to that total could be difficult: in addition to losing franchise face Tyrese Haliburton to a devastating Achilles injury during Game 7 of June's Finals, Indiana also bid farewell to tenured center Myles Turner, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks.