Indiana Pacers, coach Rick Carlisle agree to multiyear extension
Carlisle led the Pacers to a 50-32 regular-season record and an NBA Finals appearance last season. He is 338-318 in eight overall seasons as Pacers head coach, including an initial tenure from 2003-04 through 2006-07.
Carlisle, who returned to the Pacers in 2021-22, has a 157-171 record over the last four seasons with the franchise. He went 25-57 in 2021. The Pacers improved to 35-47 in 2022 and 47-35 a year later.
Carlisle has a 993-860 regular-season record over 23 years as an NBA head coach. He ranks No. 11 on the league's all-time wins list.
The Pacers will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves in a preseason game Oct. 7 in Minneapolis. They will open the regular season against the Oklahoma City Thunder in an NBA Finals rematch Oct. 23 in Indianapolis.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Why Celtics legend Paul Pierce believes Jayson Tatum will come back strong from injury
The road to recovery could be a long one for Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum. However, another Celtics great, 10-time All-Star Paul Pierce, believes that Tatum is up for the challenge and fully capable of returning to full strength. Late in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the New York Knicks, Tatum suffered an Achilles tear that ruled him out for the rest of the series. And although the Celtics haven't officially shut him down for the 2025-26 season, it doesn't seem likely that he'll see the court over the next several months. Yet, none of that shook Pierce's confidence, as the 2008 NBA Finals MVP shared his thoughts on Tatum's rehab process with New England Patriots Hall of Famer Julian Edelman on the "Games With Names" podcast. "Usually an Achilles injury will take you a whole year to get back to work," Pierce told the former wide receiver. "After a whole year, you start getting back. I mean, we got cases of it — Paul George, (Kevin Durant) — they looked good after they came back from an Achilles (injury). So I'm not worried about him getting back to where he was before he got hurt." Despite Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George and Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant both suffering brutal injuries in their primes, both future Hall of Famers remain in the league. Plus, Durant was over 30 years old when he tore his Achilles and still managed to get back to his old self. Tatum hasn't even turned 28, which bodes well for his injury maintenance. Regardless of age, recovering from an Achilles injury is a grueling ordeal that requires daily work. But, if Tatum has shown anything during his impressive career, it's that he's willing to do whatever it takes to play the game he loves. Listen to "Havlicek Stole the Pod" on: Spotify: iTunes: YouTube:
Indianapolis Star
an hour ago
- Indianapolis Star
'Mostly hell:' Injuries have plagued Indy's star pro athletes for decades. Is that normal?
INDIANAPOLIS -- Slick Leonard, the late, legendary Indiana Pacers coach and announcer, liked to tell a story that "back in the day, when the Pacers were the only pro sports team in the city and played at the State Fair Coliseum, injuries were few and far between." "But where they built the RCA Dome, Lucas Oil Stadium, Market Square Arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse, he heard it was ancient buried Indian grounds, and he wondered if we upset the spirits (which caused) all the injuries," said Eddie White, host of the Pacers' postgame show who heard Leonard tell that tale many years ago. "He was half joking." Many fans in Indy feel a lot like Leonard, maybe not the Indian burial grounds part, but that the city's star pro athletes are ridden with serious injuries at a much higher rate than the rest of the country. "We have to find this damn black cat," Coach RJ Jankovic posted on X Aug. 12. "I been saying it for years." "It's been mostly hell for Indy ever since Peyton Manning," Zack Hicks, lead Colts analyst on posted to X this month. "Even the smallest bright spots end in tragedy." "Well, Hali going down in Game 7 and Paul George's injury in the Olympics both felt like a Pacers curse to me," said Andy DeNardo, responding to an IndyStar Facebook post on the topic. "Call it the Malice at the Palace curse which was perhaps the year the Pacers were destined. Colts? I'm not sure. Mostly bad luck, so to speak." Still, other fans believe Indy is no different than any other city that has an NFL, NBA and WNBA team playing in town. "I honestly think it is normal. It certainly means a lot more to us because they are our guys," Shawn Martin responded to the IndyStar post. "But, especially in football, injuries are really inevitable." "I don't believe we are cursed. However, we've certainly had more than our share of bad 'luck' in recent years with injuries, especially to our star/superstar players," wrote Tim McCord. "Injuries happen in sports." "No curse," wrote Joanna Lee. "There are several things that factor in. DNA, heredity, diet, training and how you play, but you can't control other things that athletes do in competition and practice." While Indy does have a long list of star athlete injuries dating back nearly 40 years, the latest round has been especially devastating. First, Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon at the beginning of Game 7 of the NBA playoffs, which is expected to keep him out for the entire 2025-26 season. Then Fever star Caitlin Clark suffered a groin injury July 15, her fourth separate muscle injury of the season, which has kept her from practicing or playing for more than a month. Three other Fever guards -- Sophie Cunningham, Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson -- have been lost for the season. Add Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson who has a history of injuries, including an AC joint sprain in his throwing shoulder in 2023 which required season-ending surgery. Most recently, during the team's pre-season opener, Richardson left the game with a dislocated pinky finger. While he is back on the field, the Colts announced this week that Daniel Jones would be their starting quarterback. What is happening with Indy's star pro athletes today seems to be par for the course in a long line of injuries dating back to 1987. That's when Pacers star Clark Kellogg was forced to cut his NBA career short at the age of 26 after enduring chronic knee problems that allowed him to play only three full seasons of the five he was with the Pacers. As for the Colts in the early days, there was Steve Emtman, who ranks No. 8 on the list of the 50 most injury-prone athletes of all time, according to Bleacher Report. Emtman was the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NFL Draft by the Colts, but he suffered a blown-out left knee nine games into his rookie season. Then at the start of the 1993 season, Emtman endured a season-ending right knee injury. He played in just 18 games from 1992 to 1994 due to injuries, including a ruptured disc in his neck. Since then, the city has had its share of serious injuries: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning's neck, Pacers star Paul George's snapped leg, Colts' Andrew Luck's lacerated kidney, damaged shoulder and career-ending calf injury, Pacers' Victor Oladipo's ruptured quad tendon in his right knee, to name a few. Which begs the question: Is Indy really battling more injuries than other pro sports teams? Or does it just feel that way? "It's a real combination of factors" that contribute to the injuries among Indy athletes and the way fans absorb and feel about those injuries, said Daniel McQuiston, an expert in sports culture and marketing and professor Emeritus at Butler University. First, fans are in an information-heavy culture with social media providing constant updates on news, sports and injuries. That makes sports fans hyper aware, said McQuiston, which may make them feel like Indy's athletes are more injured than others. There are also the factors that have contributed to the injuries. McQuiston points to the current culture of youth sports with kids specializing in one sport and playing it year round. "Back when I was a high school swimmer, you would start your season about October, and then you'd go through March, and it was done," he said. "Then, we got a new coach the summer between my junior and senior years and he says, 'Hey, we're going to swim during the summer.' I said, 'Say what?' "But now, that's just what kids do." That trend of AAU and travel ball exploded around the time today's young pro athletes like Haliburton, Richardson and Clark were kids. "This year-round training, they never get a break. They don't have rest periods," said McQuiston. "This is what you've got, and that leads to fatigue and when you're fatigued, you get injured." The NBA recently reported injuries were up 13% during the 2024-25 season in terms of games missed by players. The league also said in June that it is using artificial intelligence and has convened a panel of sports medicine experts to study the uptick of Achilles tears happening in the NBA. Before Haliburton, six other players in the league had suffered Achilles tears during the season -- Pacers centers James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson, New Orleans guard Dejounte Murray and Miami guard Dru Smith (an Evansville native) in the regular season. Boston's Jayson Tatum and Milwaukee's Damian Lillard were injured in the playoffs. "So, we had seven this year. We had zero last year under the exact same circumstances, and the most we've ever had (previously) in a season is four," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in an ESPN interview before the NBA Draft in June. "The NFL has had a rash of Achilles issues as well. So the purpose of convening those experts is to try to figure out what's going on." There are sites that track injuries of pro athletes, but those statistics don't break down the teams with the most serious injuries or what teams have had the most injuries to star players. And that is where Indy has felt the most hurt, injuries to its star players. It was the 1992 NFL Draft night and the higher-ups at the Colts complex on West 56th Street "were acting like little kids heading for the circus: happy, wide-eyed and eager," wrote IndyStar sports columnist Robin Miller. They had landed Steve Emtman for the No. 1 pick in the 1992 NFL Draft, a 290-pound beast of a defensive tackle out of the University of Washington where he was a unanimous All-American and considered the best overall player on the 1991 undefeated national championship team, placing fourth in the Heisman Trophy ballot. Many football gurus, including veteran NFL coach Buddy Ryan had called Emtman "the best player in the country" leading up to the draft. Colts general manager Jim Irsay was beaming as he talked about this rookie that could "lay the foundation" for a team coming off a 1-15 record, still the Colts' most disastrous season in its history. In his rookie season, Emtman roared 90 yards down the field, with what would be the only interception of his career to score a game-ending touchdown in a victory at Miami. But things went downhill for Emtman very quickly -- a neck and two knee injuries in three seasons ended with the Colts waiving him. Emtman played one season with the Miami Dolphins and another with Washington before retiring in 1997 at the age of 27. Like Emtman, there was another Colts player on the 50 most injury-prone athletes. No. 32 on the list was safety and fan favorite Bob Sanders, who played almost his entire NFL career with the Colts and was a two-time All-Pro. When healthy, Sanders was one of the league's best defenders, yet he missed 10 games as a rookie in 2004 due to foot and knee injuries. Two years later, during the Colts Super Bowl-winning season, a knee injury forced Sanders out of 12 games. He did recover, turned around the defense and caused two turnovers in the Super Bowl victory. After winning the 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, arm, shoulder and knee injuries caused Sanders to miss 32 of the Colts' next 41 regular-season games. Sanders left the Colts in 2010 and spent one season with the San Diego Chargers. But, perhaps, the Colts' biggest injury saga was their franchise quarterback Manning. During the season leading up to the Colts only Super Bowl win, Manning took a hit against Washington, injuring his neck. While he played through the injury for the Super Bowl win and several years after, by 2011, the pain was too intense. Manning had a herniated disc and nerve damage that required multiple surgeries. He eventually had a C3-C4 spinal fusion surgery and underwent experimental stem cell treatments. The injury forced Manning to miss the entire 2011 season and ultimately led to the Colts releasing him, which caused hearts to break across the city for their beloved quarterback. "As I go, I go with just a few words left to say, a few words I want to address to Colts fans everywhere," Manning said March 7, 2012 when his Colts release was announced. "Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I truly have enjoyed being your quarterback." While the Colts releasing Manning was due, in part, to concerns about his ability to recover, there were also financial factors, including the salary cap, and the opportunity to draft Luck in 2012. And that's exactly what the Colts did. Luck came in with big shoes to fill and hearts to win over. With his humble, self-proclaimed nerd status mixed with fierce athletic prowess, he quickly endeared Colts fans. But Luck would end up having his own injuries, a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, a lacerated kidney and other ailments. After limited practice time in 2016 due to shoulder problems, he underwent surgery in 2017. As the 2019 season launched, with fans having high hopes of a fresh new season with a healthy quarterback, Luck shocked the NFL world. "I'm going to retire, this is not an easy decision," Luck said after the Colts' preseason loss to the Bears. "This is the hardest decision of my life. But it is the right decision for me." Luck fought back tears as he explained his decision. "(The injuries have) taken my joy of this game away. I've been stuck in this process, haven't been able to live the life I want to live. After 2016, I played in pain. ... I said I wouldn't go through that again." Much like the Colts' back-to-back franchise quarterback injury woes, the Pacers had a double whammy with their 1982 and 1983 NBA first round draft picks, Clark Kellogg and Steve Stipanovich. Kellogg was the 8th pick in the first round, a star player at Ohio State where he earned All-Big Ten Conference and Most Valuable Player honors. He didn't disappoint his rookie season in the NBA, averaging 20.1 points and 10.6 rebounds. His stellar play landed him a deal with Converse for his own signature shoe. But before his second season with the Pacers, the cartilage around Kellogg's left knee began to deteriorate, leading to the first of three surgeries within four years. With each injury and surgery, Kellogg tried to come back, but he missed many games throughout his career. After his third surgery in November 1986, Kellogg realized he couldn't make a comeback this time. He retired in 1987. When he left the game (having played 260 games in total), Kellogg left a stuffed stat sheet, despite his injuries. During his career, he averaged 18.9 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists. As Kellogg was fighting through his injuries in the 1980s, Stipanovich was right beside him. The 7-foot center was Drafted No. 2 in the 1983 NBA Draft by the Pacers after a stellar career at Missouri. But a severe injury to his left knee caused a dead spot in the bone. The team reported that Stipanovich had undergone multiple surgeries and treatments, including doctors drilling a hole to try to revive the dead area, but none of it worked. The injury was just too serious. 'It seems to have gotten worse,' Stipanovich said of the injury as he retired from the Pacers in 1989 after only five seasons. Modern day Pacers fans may not remember Kellogg and Stipanovich, but many can recall the Paul George injury that sidelined their star player. After being drafted by the Pacers in 2010, and becoming what the team hoped would be a longtime franchise player, George broke his leg during a Team USA basketball scrimmage in August 2014. The injury was a compound fracture of his tibia and fibula that occurred as he attempted to block a shot. George missed the first 76 games of the 2014-15 season, spending months in rigorous rehabilitation, undergoing two surgeries and finally coming back. Then only six games back from that leg injury, George felt a strange pop in his other healthy left leg during a game. It was a strained left calf muscle. With George out for most of the season, the Pacers missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years. The franchise took another hit when Victor Oladipo suffered a season-ending ruptured quad tendon in his right knee in January 2019. Indy fans added the injury to the long list they say has plagued their athletes. "Indy is cursed. The sports gods don't like us," Dustin Schuman wrote in an email to IndyStar at the time. "Or maybe there is something in the water." With Haliburton's latest injury and fans still awaiting Caitlin Clark's return to the WNBA, today's Indy fans will continue to debate whether their star athletes' injuries are just a normal part of pro sports or something else. "It is not a curse," Bob Hittle responded to IndyStar's post, "but a run of bad luck."
Newsweek
3 hours ago
- Newsweek
Pacers Fan Going Viral After Wild New Team Tattoos
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Indiana Pacers went on a magical run during the 2024-25 NBA season. They made it all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals, where they came up short against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Unfortunately, the run did not end in a championship. Even worse for the team was the fact that star point guard Tyrese Haliburton went down with a torn Achilles in Game 7 of the Finals. Following such an amazing year for a team that hasn't had that kind of success since the 2000 season, the Pacers are now expected to have a gap year in the 2025-26 campaign. Without Haliburton on the court, it will be difficult for them to remain a top-tier contender. A view of the Indiana Pacers logo on their uniform during the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on February 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. A view of the Indiana Pacers logo on their uniform during the game against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena on February 12, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo byDespite the expected decline this season, one Indiana fan decided to show his love for the Pacers in a very unique way. More news: Celtics Receive Blunt Jayson Tatum Reality Check As shared by Bleacher Report, a fan decided to get hand tattoos of both Reggie Miller and Haliburton. While in theory there are a lot of people who get tattoos related to their favorite sports teams, this Indiana fan went all-in. The fan is also receiving some rough backlash after the photos went viral. Pacers fan gets hand tattoos of Reggie Miller and Hali 😭🔥 Thoughts on Pacers hand tattoos? 👀 (via — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 21, 2025 Fans did not waste time taking to the comments section of Bleacher Report to share their opinions on the tattoos. "They look like Rick & Morty characters," one fan wrote. Another chimed in, "I respect the dedication but this person should have went to a better tattoo artist." "Lmaoooo sue the tattoo artist that is horrible," a third comment read. A fourth fan commented, "Did a 5 year old give him those?" "They sorta look like Simpsons characters," a fifth comment said. More news: New York Knicks Tabbed Landing Spot for Future Hall of Famer They might not be the most detailed or realistic tattoos of Miller and Haliburton, but the fan deserves some props. He clearly loves the Pacers. It will be interesting to see what Indiana is able to do during the upcoming NBA season. Without Haliburton, there are other players who will have a chance to make a huge impact for the Pacers. Two of those players are Andrew Nembhard and Bennedict Mathurin. Indiana is set to begin the 2025-26 NBA regular season with a matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 23. For more on the Indiana Pacers and general NBA news, head on over to Newsweek Sports.
