A champion as a player in 1986 with the Boston Celtics, Rick Carlisle began his head coaching career in 2001. This is his 23rd season as a head coach in the NBA, and his second trip as a head coach to the NBA Finals. In 2011 while with the Dallas Mavericks, his team won the franchise’s first ever championship in six games over the Miami Heat. Now, Carlisle is attempting to win a championship as a head coach with two different teams as his Indiana Pacers take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2025 NBA Finals. Rick Carlisle would become just the fourth head coach ever to win the NBA Finals with two teams. Here are the other three.
Rick Carlisle Attempting To Become Fourth Head Coach To Do This
Alex Hannum
Hannum became the first head coach in NBA history to win championships with multiple teams. His first came in 1958 as the head man for the St. Louis Hawks. The team was led by Bob Pettit, but also included Hall of Fame players Cliff Hagan, Slater Martin, and Ed Macauley. They defeated the Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals. That was the only year from 1957 until 1966 where Boston did not take home the title.
The second championship won by Hannum came in 1967 with the Philadelphia 76ers. That team had Wilt Chamberlain, who won MVP that season. Other Hall of Famers on the team were Hal Greer, Billy Cunningham, and Chet Walker. The Sixers won the NBA Finals in six games over the Rick Barry-led San Francisco Warriors.
While not an NBA championship, Hannum was the head coach in 1968-69 for the Oakland Oats, a team that won the ABA Finals.
Phil Jackson
After winning two championships as a player with the New York Knicks, Jackson won another 11 as a head coach. The first six came with the Chicago Bulls, which of course all featured Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. None of their six NBA Finals wins were extended to seven games.
The final five of his head coaching championship wins came with the Los Angeles Lakers. The first three featured the dominant duo of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The final two, which came in 2009 and 2010, included Bryant and Pau Gasol. Only the last of Jackson’s 11 championships went to a Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
Pat Riley
Leading the way for the Showtime Lakers in the 1980s, Riley won four championships as head coach for the team during the decade. The first three of those titles were won in six games, while the 1988 NBA Finals was an epic seven-game series between them and the Detroit Pistons. All four had two of the NBA’s greatest players of all-time in Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.
Riley’s last title as head coach came in 2006 while with the Heat. It was the franchise’s first championship, and they rostered Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal. Trailing 2-0 to the Mavericks in the NBA Finals, Miami staged a comeback Game 3 win, the first of four straight victories.
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