Rick Carlisle Reveals Key Turning Point in Pacers' Season on Way to NBA Finals

After a "humbling" start to the season, the Pacers are headed to the NBA Finals.

Ernie Johnson interviews Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle after game six of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks. / Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The Indiana Pacers are returning to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2000, but they did not look like they would be seriously competing for a championship early in the season.

The Pacers began the season by losing four of their first six games, and went 16-18 over the first couple months. The team wasn't playing with consistency, especially star point guard Tyrese Haliburton, who even failed to score a single point in the Pacers' second game of the season.

Before the Pacers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder for a shot at their first NBA championship, coach Rick Carlisle reflected on that tough start to the season and how January marked a turning point in the Pacers' season.

"We got humbled early with a tough schedule," Carlisle said on the Pat McAfee Show. "... You try to problem solve your way through it. You certainly have to lean on your veterans and your leaders in tough times to keep everybody's vibe up and for those guys to stay positive, which they did. You try to give yourselves the best chance you can. January was key for us because there were no back-to-backs, we became healthier. I think we had the best record in the league that month and we were able to keep it going as the year went on."

“I felt coming into the season that the NBA is structurally changing a little bit..

We liked our pieces but we got humbled early..

January was key for us because we got healthier and we kept it going as the year went on”

Coach Carlisle #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/A4w7yx5PRS

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 2, 2025

The Pacers started January 6-0 and went 10-2 over the course of the month. By the end of the regular season, Indiana became one of the hottest teams in the league, winning eight of their final 10 regular season games and coming up victorious in multiple clutch, late-game situations.

That momentum served them well heading into the postseason, where they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks before upsetting the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks on the way to the Finals.

Indiana will try to keep its momentum going when the NBA Finals begin this Thursday.

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