Rick Carlise won 656 games in two cycles with Indiana
Throughout their 49 years of history in the NBA, the Pacers have had 16 different coaches, from legendary figures such as Isiah Thomas and Larry Bird to technicians from the Hall of Fame like Jack Ramsay. Here we review the five coaches with more matches directed in the Indiana franchise.
Rick Carlisle-656 parties (2003-07; 2021-present)
Carlisle heads the list thanks to two different stages with the team. His first cycle in Indiana started with everything: 61 victories in the 2003-04 season and an appearance in the East Finals, falling to the Pistons, a team that he had directed in the previous two seasons. The victories were decreasing in the following years, and after a record of 35 wins in 2007, he was fired. After 13 years at the head of the Mavericks, with whom he won the championship in 2011, he returned to Indiana in 2021. Since then, he has improved the team record in each season, reaching the 50 victories and the finals of the NBA in 2025. His current record with Indiana is 338-318, and his 993 wins in total locate him 11th in the history of the League.
Frank Vogel-431 parties (2011-16)
Vogel began as an assistant to Jim O’Brien in 2007 and was appointed interim coach after his dismissal in January 2011. He managed to turn the season and put the team in the playoffs, winning the fixed position in the summer. In his five seasons in command, he took the team four times to postseason, including two conference finals. However, after a first round elimination in 2016, he was fired with a 250-181 record. Then passed through Orlando and the Lakers, where he won the championship in 2020.
William “Slick” Leonard – 328 partidos (1976-1980)
Leonard began directing the Pacers in 1968, when they were still in the ABA, where he accumulated 657 more games and won three championships. Already in the NBA, between 1976 and 1980, he never exceeded 38 victories or managed to classify the playoffs. His record at that stage was 142-186. In total, adding ABA and NBA, he directed 985 games in the franchise. It was included in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2014.
Larry Brown-328 parties (1993-97)
Brown arrived in Indiana in 1993 with a long career as a coach in the NBA, ABA and the university basketball (UCLA and Kansas). In his four years with the Pacers he achieved two seasons of 52 wins and two appearances in the conference finals, both lost in seven games. After a campaign with just 39 victories in 1996-97, he resigned. His record with Indiana was 190-138. He was the first coach to achieve a series won in the playoffs and a 50+ victorious season in the NBA history of the Pacers. Then he directed the 76ers to some finals in 2001 and the Pistons to two consecutive finals, with a title included in 2004. He entered the Hall of Fame in 2002.
Jack McKinney – 328 partidos (1980-84)
McKinney had briefly directed the Lakers before suffering a serious injury in a bicycle accident. Already recovered, he took the command of Indiana in 1980, replacing Leonard. In his first season he achieved a record of 44-38 and put the team in the playoffs, which earned him the award to the coach of the year. The next three seasons were decline (35, 20 and 26 victories), without classifications to postseason. He closed his stage with a record of 125-203.
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