Rick Carlisle walks back his championship bus complaints

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated Jun 23, 2025 3:09 AM ET

Rick Carlisle changed his tune about the Oklahoma City Thunder’s championship buses after losing Game 7 on Sunday night.

Carlisle’s Indiana Pacers fell short in their quest to win the championship and lost 103-91 to the Thunder in OKC. Prior to the game, Carlisle indicated he and his Pacers felt slighted after seeing a video of the Thunder having buses painted that said “2025 champions” on the side.

Though the bus writing may have been presumptive, Carlisle acknowledged after the game that the Thunder looked like a championship team months ago.

“They may have had those buses painted up back in December. They’ll have a great parade, they have great fans,” Carlisle said after the game.

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle on the Thunder: "They may have had those busses painted up back in December. They’ll have a great parade, they have great fans."
— Ryan Aber (@ryaber) June 23, 2025

The buses being painted may have upset Carlisle and motivated him, but the Pacers were unable to secure the win. It didn’t help that Tyrese Haliburton went down with an Achilles injury in the first quarter.

Overall, the Pacers had a great season even if they came up a game short in the Finals. They were a 50-32 team during the regular season but knocked off the Bucks, Cavs and Knicks in the Eastern Conference. Then they pushed the Thunder to seven games before going down. This was Carlisle’s second time taking a team to the NBA Finals as a head coach, though last time his team won it all.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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