How old is Rick Carlisle? How Pacers coach made history in 2025 NBA Finals

Rick Carlisle is one of the more experienced head coaches in the NBA. With the league taking strides to get younger and infusing the game of basketball with new techniques and analytics, Carlisle maintains an old-school coaching style, yet his teams consistently find themselves in the playoffs. 

This was true in 2025, as Carlisle led the Pacers on an unexpected deep playoff run. Carlisle has only been with Indiana since 2021, but the Pacers have already been vying for a championship. The veteran head coach was often matched up against some of the younger head coaches in the league and had to utilize his expertise to keep his teams in games. 

Here is more on how old Rick Carlisle is and how he compares to other coaches who have made the NBA Finals. 

How old is Rick Carlisle?

Carlisle was born on Oct. 27, 1959 in Ogdensburg, New York. He is 65 years old and will turn 66 during the start of the 2025-26 season. Carlisle landed his first head coaching gig in 2001 with the Pistons at the age of 41. 

The head coach played his college ball at Maine and Virginia from 1979-1984. He was a third-round pick by the Celtics in 1984 and played shooting guard for the franchise until 1987. Carlisle was only in the NBA for three more years, spending it between the Knicks and the Nets. Immediately after retiring, he became an assistant with the Nets. He spent the next 11 years as an assistant with the Nets, Trail Blazers and Pacers, before getting his first shot at being a head coach in 2001. 

Carlisle made his way back to Indiana as the head coach in 2003 but was only there until 2007. He joined Dallas in 2008 and remained its head coach until 2021, when he returned home to the Pacers. 

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Oldest coaches in NBA Finals

ESPN NBA analyst Mike Breen said during the 2025 NBA Finals that Carlisle is the oldest head coach ever to make the Finals. Gregg Popovich was the oldest, at 65 years old, when the Spurs last made the NBA Finals in 2014. Popovich was about 100 days younger than Carlisle, giving him the new record as of 2025. 

rick carlisle is the oldest coach in finals history pic.twitter.com/rKLJ534cDp

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Oldest coach to win NBA Championship

The oldest head coach to win the NBA Championship is Larry Brown. He was coaching the Pistons in 2004, one year after Carlisle had joined the Pacers for the first time. Brown and Detroit overcame Phil Jackson and Los Angeles. The Pistons won the series 4-1, and it was the third championship in franchise history. 

If Carlisle and the Pacers win the 2025 NBA Finals, he would become the oldest head coach in NBA history to win a title.