May 25, 2011; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban (left) head coach Rick Carlisle (center) and forward Dirk Nowitzki celerbate a victory after game five against the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Western Conference Finals of the 2011 NBA playoffs at American Airlines Center. The Mavs beat the Thunder 100-96. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images Matthew Emmons-Imagn Images

Mavericks Championship winning coach headed back to NBA Finals

Originally posted on Dallas Mavericks on SI
By Austin Veazey | Last updated May 31, 2025 10:51 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday night to advance to the NBA Finals where the Oklahoma City Thunder await. It's the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history for the Pacers (they had some ABA Finals luck in the 70s) and they're hoping to capture their first championship.

Indiana has a few Mavericks connections, including 16-year veteran James Johnson somehow still on the roster, who was a Maverick in the 2020-21 season before he was traded for JJ Redick.

By far the biggest Mavericks connection is that Rick Carlisle is the head coach for the Indiana Pacers, the same Rick Carlisle that led the Mavs from 2008 to 2021, helping the franchise capture its first championship in 2011. He now hopes to do the same for the Pacers.

There are some similarities between the two franchises, as Dallas had an NBA Finals appearance before Carlisle got there in 2006, and then they won it all in Carlisle's third season in Dallas. This will be Carlisle's fourth season back in Indiana, as he was also their coach from 2003-2007.

Carlisle is the 11th-winningest coach in NBA history and the 10th-winningest coach in NBA playoffs history.

A lot of fans will try to look back and question why Dallas let Carlisle go, but it was time. The Mavericks hadn't won a playoff series since the championship in 2011, even if a lot of that can be chalked up to some bad rosters. Sometimes the message starts to stale, and it just felt like Carlisle (and GM Donnie Nelson) had run their course in Dallas.

This article first appeared on Dallas Mavericks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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