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Pacers End Franchise-Record Losing Streak With Milestone Win for Rick Carlisle
The Pacers have spent much of this season making the wrong kind of history—few defending conference champions have struggled like Indiana in 2026. However, on Thursday, they made the right kind of history for their longtime coach.
The Pacers defeated the Hornets Thursday 114–112 to give coach Rick Carlisle the 1,000th win of his NBA career. In addition to adding Carlisle’s name to an exclusive club, Indiana’s victory snapped a 13-game losing streak—the longest in franchise history.
The last win for the Pacers before Thursday came exactly a month ago, when they knocked off the Kings 116–105 on Dec. 8.
NBA Coaches to Win 1,000 Games All-Time
Here’s a look at the club Carlisle joined Thursday.
COACH | YEARS | FRANCHISE(S) | WINS |
|---|---|---|---|
Gregg Popovich | 1997 to 2025 | Spurs | 1,390 |
Don Nelson | 1977 to 2010 | Bucks, Warriors, Knicks, Mavericks | 1,335 |
Lenny Wilkens | 1970 to 2005 | SuperSonics, Trail Blazers, Cavaliers, Hawks, Raptors, Knicks | 1,332 |
Jerry Sloan | 1980 to 2011 | Bulls, Jazz | 1,221 |
Pat Riley | 1982 to 2008 | Lakers, Knicks, Heat | 1,210 |
Doc Rivers | 2000 to present | Magic, Celtics, Clippers, 76ers, Bucks | 1,178 |
George Karl | 1985 to 2016 | Cavaliers, Warriors, SuperSonics, Bucks, Nuggets, Kings | 1,175 |
Phil Jackson | 1990 to 2011 | Bulls, Lakers | 1,155 |
Larry Brown | 1977 to 2011 | Nuggets, Nets, Spurs, Clippers, Pacers, 76ers, Pistons, Knicks, Bobcats | 1,098 (excludes 229 wins with ABA’s Carolina Cougars and Nuggets) |
Rick Adelman | 1989 to 2014 | Trail Blazers, Warriors, Kings, Rockets, Timberwolves | 1,042 |
Rick Carlisle | 2002 to present | Pistons, Pacers, Mavericks | 1,000 |
Carlisle became, along with Rivers, one of two coaches to win 1,000 games entirely within the 21st century. The ex-Maine, Virginia, Celtics, Knicks and Nets guard is the second 1,000 game winner to patrol the sidelines for all three of his teams: the Pistons (Brown), Indiana (Brown), and the Mavericks (Nelson).
With the win, the Pacers moved to 7–31 on the season. They are 10.5 games out of the Eastern Conference’s final playoff spot, and pacing for their lowest winning percentage in franchise history.
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Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .