Did Rick Carlisle play in the NBA? Looking back at the Pacers head coach's career with the Celtics, Knicks and more

Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle has earned a reputation as one of the game's best tacticians over the past few decades.

Carlisle, the mastermind behind the Mavericks' legendary run to the NBA title in 2011, is now leading Indiana to its most successful playoff run since 2014. And while most know Carlisle for his role as a coach, his story began with the game on the Place.

Many NBA coaches played basketball at some point in their lives, but Carlisle spent time playing the game at the highest level. As such, he is part of an exclusive club that can win an NBA title as both a player and a coach.

Here's everything you need to know about Carlisle's playing career and how it led him to where he is today.

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Did Rick Carlisle play in the NBA?

Carlisle played five seasons in the NBA. He appeared in 188 games for the Celtics, Knicks and Nets.

Boston used the 70th overall pick in the 1984 NBA Draft to select Carlisle out of the University of Virginia. As a rookie, Carlisle played 38 games for the Celtics before taking on a larger role in his second year.

Carlisle was a member of Boston's 1986 championship team that went 67-15 in the regular season before defeating Michael Jordan's Bulls and defeating the Hawks and Bucks en route to the title. Carlisle appeared in 10 playoff games.

After three seasons with the Celtics, Carlisle spent the 1987-88 season with the Knicks. He sat out the next season before spending the final five games of his career with the Nets.

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Rick Carlisle NBA Stats

• 188 games
• 2.2 points per game
• 0.8 rebounds per game
• 1.1 assists per game
• 42.2 percent field goal percentage
• 22.9 percent 3-point percentage
• 77.5 percent free throw shooting

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Timeline of Rick Carlisle's coaching

After spending five games with the Nets during the 1989-90 season, Carlisle switched sides and was named assistant coach to the team. He worked with the same players he once called teammates.

Carlisle spent five seasons on the sidelines in New Jersey before moving to Portland, where he spent three seasons. In 1997, Carlisle was hired as a Pacers assistant, rejoining his former Celtics teammate Larry Bird, who had recently been hired as the franchise's head coach.

After Bird resigned in 2000, Isiah Thomas was hired as Indiana's head coach and Carlisle spent a year away before being hired as the Pistons' head coach in 2001.

In his first season as an NBA head coach, Carlisle led Detroit to a 50-32 record and was named NBA Coach of the Year. He was released after the 2002-03 NBA season.

Carlisle has been an NBA head coach since the 2001-02 season, with stints in Detroit, Indiana and Dallas. After a 13-year run in Dallas, which included the 2011 NBA championship, Carlisle was hired for a second stint with the Pacers ahead of the 2021-22 season.