Dwyane Wade shares why Rick Carlisle should get more recognition for the Pacers' success: "I give a lot of credit to the leader over there"

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Dwyane Wade shares why Rick Carlisle should get more recognition for the Pacers' success: "I give a lot of credit to the leader over there" originally appeared on Basketball Network.
Indiana Pacers All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton has gotten most of the flowers for the team's success this season. And why not? Haliburton's four postseason game-winners - one in each series, have been instrumental in putting the Pacers where they are right now — up 1-0 in the 2025 NBA Finals.
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However, as with any team, aside from having that leader on the basketball court, the leader on the sidelines is as essential. For the Pacers, that guy is the unassuming Rick Carlisle.
The 65-year-old is a former NBA player with 13 years of NBA head coaching experience. He may not have the resume of Gregg Popovich or Phil Jackson or the popularity of Erik Spoelstra or Steve Kerr, but he's under the radar one of the best bench tacticians out there today.
Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade agrees and thinks that the confidence and swagger the Pacers are playing with emanates from him.
"When you look at Rick Carlisle, that's what you see - a confident coach who seems in control most of the time," saidWade on his podcast. "Very rarely, he'll go off, but for the most part, he always seems in control most of it. And you're watching his team take on that identity, so I just feel like whatever that coaching staff has done for this team over the last few years, not just this year, the confidence that they pumped into them, what they've built amongst them as a group, you can see that. It's actually showing when these guys take the court."
Pacers are playing with the Devil's magic
The 2024-25 Pacers have earned the reputation as the "Devil's team" because experts and analysts have run out of words to describe the unbelievable comebacks they've produced this season. So, they've simply called it the "Devil's magic." But it's actually the product of the belief that Carlisle has instilled in his team over the last couple of years.
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Indiana thrives on a fast-paced, pass-heavy offense built on constant movement. In Carlisle's system, there's no fixed first or last option — anyone can take the shot if they've got the best look. That approach makes every Pacer a legitimate scoring threat on any given night. The Championship coach got the entire roster to buy in, and now everyone's flourishing and, more importantly, Indiana's winning.
"I just want to give credit to the leader over there," added the Hall of Fame shooting guard. "Carlisle is somebody who, when you're trying to do something for the first time, obviously Siakam has won a championship but most of these guys are trying to do something for the first time, you've got to go with somebody who's been there. He's been everywhere. He's seen it all. Rick Carlisle's been around."
Related: "We're going to be the most improved, surprising, and best team" - Jalen Rose had high ambitions about lifting the Bulls from the bottom of the NBA
Carlisle has an impressive history
Saying Carlisle's "been around" barely scratches the surface. He suited up for the Boston Celtics and was part of their legendary 1986 championship squad loaded with five Hall of Famers. Years later, he served as an assistant under Larry Bird during Bird's coaching stint with the Pacers.
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He posted back-to-back 50-win seasons in his first two years as head coach in Detroit. He built the Pistons' 2004 title team, and you could argue he would've led them to the 2004 title if he had not bumped heads with the ownership and had gotten fired. Finally, Carlisle won his first NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011 at the expense of the Big 3 Miami Heat.
And yes, this is his second tour of duty with the Pacers. He coached them from 2003-04 to 2006-07, winning 61 games in his first year as head coach. Rick never made it past the ECF during his first tenure as Pacers head coach. He's done that in his third year back. And after they stole Game 1, the Pacers are three wins away from the first championship in franchise history. All said, there's no "devil's magic" here, just a very good coach with a hungry team.
Related: Paul Pierce says Shai Gilgelous-Alexander would be the best player in Thunder history if he wins the title: "This is one of the all-time great historical runs"
This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jun 8, 2025, where it first appeared.