If there’s one man you don’t want silently fuming before a Game 7, it’s Rick Carlisle. And unfortunately for Oklahoma City, someone just handed this man a reason to go full “coach with a vendetta” mode. A viral video surfaced of open-top buses in OKC already painted for a championship parade. Standard protocol? Sure. But to Carlisle, it’s bulletin-board material hotter than a Dirk Nowitzki fadeaway in Game 2 of the 2011 Finals.
“I just saw a video that’s probably going to go viral… open-top buses, presumably for the parade,” Carlisle said. “That’s all I’m thinking about right now.” Forget spacing, forget coverages, forget Tyrese Haliburton’s calf – Rick Carlisle is out here coaching Game 7 like someone just spoiled his Sopranos rerun.
Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle before NBA Finals Game 7 vs. Thunder: “I just saw a video that’s probably going to go viral of some buses, open-top buses, presumably for the parade that are already painted with them as champions. That’s all I’m thinking about right now.” https://t.co/2UjHQ9F89d
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 22, 2025
Let’s not forget who we’re dealing with. Rick Carlisle, at 65, is the oldest Finals coach since Gregg Popovich in 2014. The man’s been drawing up game-winners since fax machines were high-tech. He’s lived through the Jordan Era, Kobe Era, LeBron Era… and now? He’s calling plays against TikTok-era OKC while mentally playing jazz scales.
Yes, Rick Carlisle is a trained jazz pianist, meaning he’s just as comfortable with a full-court trap as he is with a bebop solo. He once jammed live on stage with Bruce Hornsby. Find another Finals coach who can drop both a killer defensive rotation and a Miles Davis turnaround lick. We’ll wait.
And if you thought analytics was a recent trend, Rick was doing points-per-possession math in the early 2000s while others were still yelling “POST HIM UP!” like it was gospel. The man was Moneyball before Brad Pitt got the call. This ain’t his first rodeo. In fact, Carlisle has two championship rings – one from 1986 as a player with the Celtics, and one as the head coach who slayed LeBron’s superteam in 2011 with the Dallas Mavericks.
Oh, and a fun nugget: Carlisle coached Indiana back in 2003, left during the flip phone era, and returned in the age of FaceTime timeouts and team TikToks. His evolution from defensive disciplinarian to a free-flowing offensive guru should be studied like Phil Jackson’s triangle or Duncan’s footwork.
The Xs, Os & Pianos of This Finals Run
Don’t be fooled by the calm pressers. Carlisle’s been playing mind chess all series. He benched tired schemes in Game 6, de-pressurized Thunder ball-handlers and dared OKC’s role players to beat them. They didn’t. Indiana smoked them 108–91, and suddenly everyone remembered: this guy outcoached LeBron James and Erik Spoelstra in the same series once.
And here’s the stat line that deserves more shine than a freshly waxed Larry O’Brien trophy: Carlisle’s Pacers have come back from five different 15-point playoff deficits this year, more than any team in a single postseason. That’s not luck. That’s Carlisle turning chaos into a symphony.
Also, the man stopped calling plays mid-game years ago because he trusts players. Just like he let Jason Kidd freelance in 2011, he’s now letting Haliburton run the floor like it’s an AAU showcase in heaven.
Let’s call it what it is — Rick Carlisle has nothing left to prove, but everything left to gain. A Game 7 win here would make him the first coach in NBA history to win titles 14 years apart with two different franchises. That’s not just a resume bullet point; that’s basketball immortality.
He’s already hit 900 career wins, been Coach of the Year, and has the respect of every coach from Pop to Spo. But winning with these Pacers, against this Thunder team, as a massive underdog? That’s the movie script.
May 21, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle reacts against the Boston Celtics during the second half for game one of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
If Indiana pulls this off, it won’t be because Carlisle made a flashy halftime speech or broke a clipboard. It’ll be because a 65-year-old jazz pianist who watches game tape like it’s Hitchcock came into Game 7 thinking about parade buses… and revenge.
Tyrese Haliburton is running on half a leg and full adrenaline. Carlisle’s decision to manage his minutes could be the pivot of the entire series. Pascal Siakam is doing “Kawhi cosplay” with playoff double-doubles and two-way lockdowns that remind everyone why he’s got a ring. TJ McConnell and Nembhard have become certified playoff pests, and Rick’s game plan hinges on them annoying SGA into early therapy.
And most importantly: can Carlisle’s jazz-brain make the Thunder play out of rhythm just one more time?
No matter what happens, Rick Carlisle has already turned this Indiana run into a basketball miracle. But if he caps it off with a ring, don’t be surprised if he sits at a piano postgame and plays “Take Five” while holding the Larry O’Brien like a mic drop.
The post Rick Carlisle Locked In on One Thing Before NBA Finals Game 7 After Thunder Leak appeared first on EssentiallySports.
