Jannero Pargo gets valuable head coaching experience for Indiana Pacers Summer League team
For the first eight seasons of Jannero Pargo's NBA career, he was just a player thinking about being a player. He suited up for five franchises during that stretch and became one of the league's solid backup point guards.
During the final leg of his NBA career, Pargo wound up in Charlotte. There, he played under head coaches Mike Dunlap and Steve Clifford, and that stop is where he determined that he wanted to coach one day.
"Very late in my career," Pargo, now an assistant with the Indiana Pacers, said of when he figured out he wanted to be a coach. "I would say my last two years, I was pretty much a player-coach in Charlotte. I knew I had aspirations of becoming a coach, and some day a head coach."
Once his playing days were done, Pargo joined the G League's Windy City Bulls as an assistant, and two years later he reached the NBA ranks with the Portland Trail Blazers. He was an assistant under Terry Stotts at the time.
Portland let go of Stotts in the summer of 2021, and a few months later Pargo was on staff with the Pacers and head coach Rick Carlisle.
It's clear just from observing that Pargo is close with Pacers players. At age 43, he can still play a little bit, and he battles one-on-one with guys often. He is a strong player development coach, and his days as a player allow him to relate well to the roster.
"He's awesome. Definitely instills confidence in his players," Pacers rookie Jarace Walker said of Pargo. "He definitely wants us to play hard and defend."
Ben Sheppard, another Pacers rookie, said that Pargo is fun to play for and that the coach is a strong friend and mentor. Those qualities are critical in the new age of NBA coaches.
With Pargo growing and becoming a rising coach in the league, it isn't a surprise that Indiana gave him an opportunity to be the head coach of the Pacers Summer League team. He was approached about the chance in early June, and while nothing was finalized at the time, he still had to prepare.
That required mental focus and calls with his mentors. He chatted with Stotts, who he worked under for two years, to get some advice. He also called Jim Moran, an assistant in Portland at the same time as Pargo who is now the head coach of the Blazers G League team, the Rip City Remix. Moran was the head coach of Portland's Summer League squad before.
Those two gave Pargo advice that he needed, and he was ready to go. His first practice was on July 1, and it featured a lot of defense for the Summer League Pacers.
"It felt different. But it felt good," Pargo said after his first practice. "I believe I have a lot of respect from the players, and I know they're happy that I'm in this position."
It was his first practice as a head coach, so he was learning as he went. Carlisle was around, as were other Pacers assistants, but it was Pargo's team to coach.
He implemented some of his own ideas and sets, but largely stuck within the script of the Pacers scheme. He was, after all, prepping some of the players on the roster for the upcoming season. But he did have some creative freedom.
Pargo is big on ball movement and player movement, just like the Pacers are. That was one of his big adjustments during summer league action — he made sure to hammer home that the ball shouldn't stick with any player. The Pacers started off 2-0 behind Pargo's leadership.
"A lot more comfortable. When you haven't done something before, it's hard to be comfortable in that space," Pargo said of his increased comfort level after five days of practice. He was getting the hang of things and having a lot more fun.
His first game as a head coach was impressive. His team jumped out to a 51-29 halftime lead, and their defensive activity was tough for the Washington Wizards to deal with. The Wizards fought back in a major way in the second half, but the blue and gold still won by eight points in Pargo's coaching debut.
The team celebrated by dumping water all over him after the game.
"It was so much water, I couldn't even see where it came from," Pargo said postgame in a different shirt than the one he coached in. He was drenched.
His team started 2-0, but lost their last three games after some key starters sat out. Still, there was a lot to like about Pargo's first five games as a head coach.
Pargo is entering his third season as an assistant with the Pacers this year, but he is a better coach now than he was before the offseason started. He got valuable reps in Las Vegas and is better equipped for more coaching responsibilities in the future.
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