The 2025 NBA Finals are heating up. After falling short in Game 1, the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back in a big way, defeating the Indiana Pacers 123-107 in Game 2. SGA led the charge again, dropping 34 points and becoming just the 12th player in NBA history to cross 3,000 combined points in a single season. On the other side, Haliburton struggled to find rhythm, finishing with just 17 points. Now, as Game 3 plays out live and both teams fight to take control of the series, let’s rewind to a name from Indiana’s 2000 Finals run—someone who helped lead the Pacers the last time they stood on this stage.

Jermaine O’Neal wasn’t quite a household name yet during the Pacers’ 2000 Finals run—he averaged just 2.0 points, 1.0 rebound, and 0.6 blocks across five games in the Conference Finals. But fast forward through an 18-year career, and O’Neal stacked up: 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, six All-Star appearances, and a Most Improved Player award across 1,011 regular-season games. He spent his prime in Indiana, but the most “quirky” and “eclectic” memory from those early 2000s days? Playing under Rick Carlisle from 2003 to 2007—the same coach now guiding the Pacers back to the Finals in 2025. Full circle doesn’t even cover it.

On the Run It Back podcast, Jermaine O’Neal dug deep into his memory bank—like, sock-level deep—to share a classic Rick Carlisle moment from their Pacers days. “He didn’t work out with us,” Jermaine laughed, “but he would come out and, you know, shoot around a little bit on the court. He would tuck his pants in his sock back then.” That image alone had the hosts cracking up. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, Lou Williams chimed in, saying other players used to talk about how Rick would tape his ankles on game days, just like he was suiting up. But Jermaine shrugged it off with a grin: “Honestly, he might have grew out of it by the time we got there.”

Then came Chandler Parsons, who played under Carlisle in Dallas from 2014 to 2016—and he absolutely co-signed the story. Without missing a beat, he added, “[He would have his] sweatpants pulled up to his chest and grunting and all that.” The visual? Unforgettable. From taped ankles to high-waisted sweats and random shoot-arounds, the Rick Carlisle lore lives on—and it’s just as “quirky” and “eclectic” as ever.

Rick Carlisle’s playing days? Let’s just say they were more “supporting cast” than spotlight. He spent five seasons in the NBA from 1984 to 1990, missing one with injury, and averaged just 2.2 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game. But hey, he did play alongside Larry Bird—three years with the Celtics, three straight Finals runs, and a ring in ‘86 where he went a perfect 3-for-3 in the series.

But Carlisle’s true legacy came with a clipboard. He got his first head coaching gig in 2001 with Detroit, immediately stacking two 50-win seasons and grabbing Coach of the Year in 2002—only to get fired in a messy fallout. Then came Indiana, where he worked under Larry Bird and led the Pacers to a league-best 61-21 record in 2003. After a few up-and-down years, he found long-term success in Dallas, guiding the Mavericks to nine playoff runs and that unforgettable 2011 title. By the time he stepped down in 2021, he’d built a 555-478 record. Now, back with the Pacers, he’s closing a loop two decades in the making.

Rick Carlisle’s tough love playbook, from Chandler to Tyrese

Rick Carlisle and Chandler Parsons were never supposed to work. But when the Mavericks poached Parsons from Houston in 2014 with a $46 million deal, Carlisle didn’t flinch, as reported by

Mavs Moneyball. He slipped into his Mr. Miyagi mode, coaching through cryptic signals, hard truths, and the kind of blunt honesty most players aren’t ready for. It all kicked off when Carlisle publicly called Parsons overweight just weeks into his Dallas stint. Parsons countered by posting a shirtless photo on Instagram. Carlisle—not known for backing down—did something unheard of: he apologized. And somehow, that set the tone.

The two would go back and forth — Carlisle pulling Parsons out of crunch-time lineups, criticizing his plus-minus even after 31-point games, even accusing him of having an “illegal serve” in ping pong. Parsons, for his part, never exploded. He called one of his own game plan ideas a “dumbass” move, joked about hopefully not being “overweight” next training camp, and kept asking for more responsibility. “I want the ball in my hands,” he said in 2015. “I want good players around me.” But here’s the twist — Carlisle loved coaching him. Carlisle called him “one of our hardest working players.” He believed in Parsons enough to push him harder than most. And that version of Carlisle? He’s still out there. Just ask Tyrese Haliburton.

Now 65 and coaching in the NBA Finals, Carlisle has evolved. “When he gave me that nod, that was the ultimate respect,” Haliburton said. “For him to give me that confidence, I think, has really taken my career to another level.” Carlisle isn’t calling every play anymore — he’s handing Haliburton the keys. And in Game 1 against the Thunder? Down 15 in the fourth, Carlisle didn’t call a timeout with 22 seconds left. “If we get a stop and get the rebound, we’re going to go,” he said. “Hopefully get the ball in Tyrese’s hands and look to make a play.” The result? A game-winner with 0.3 seconds on the clock.

He’s still that sharp-edged genius with a flair for the dramatic and a deep love for the craft. As he put it to USA Today: “The skill aspect is the thing that’s the most compelling part of the game… the beauty of teaching the game.” From Chandler Parsons to Tyrese Haliburton, Carlisle’s style has always been the same: push, prod, trust, and win. And now, three games away from Indiana’s first-ever NBA title, he’s proving he’s still got it.