OKLAHOMA CITY — Indiana Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle crossed the practice court Sunday and smirked when he realized a line of video cameras and cellphones was tracking his every step. “There’s nothing exciting going on over here,” he said.

If there's undue slander against an individual in the NBA community, one can always rely on the Pacers head coach to set the record straight.

Indiana's Rick Carlisle is back in the Finals, continuing the dream he started pursuing while growing up in small-town New York.

OKLAHOMA CITY — The drive between the little upstate New York towns of Lisbon and Ogdensburg, by Rick Carlisle’s recollection, would take about eight minutes. In that part of the world, in the St. Lawrence valley just a few miles south of Canada, that’s like going next door.

Charles Barkley joked about the Knicks' coaching search strategy by making a direct reference to the Pacers' head coach Rick Carlisle.

Tyrese Haliburton credits Rick Carlisle as a 'basketball savant' who elevated his game as the Pacers lead the Thunder 2-1 in the NBA Finals.