Throughout the regular season — and especially during the playoffs — the Indiana Pacers have proven they’re ready to compete with any opponent in their path. That success is obviously tied to the talent of their roster, but it also reflects the excellent work of head coach Rick Carlisle. Still, he hasn’t done it alone. Among the key members of his coaching staff is Jenny Boucek.
Boucek, a 51-year-old former basketball player, has been working with Carlisle for seven years and is part of his coaching team along with assistants Lloyd Pierce, Jim Boylen, and Mike Weinar. Beyond her current role, she has carved out her own path both on and off the court.
Jenny had a standout collegiate career with the Virginia Cavaliers, where she played in 127 games between 1992 and 1996. She then set her sights on a professional career, but was not selected in the 1997 WNBA Draft ahead of the league’s inaugural season. That didn’t stop her from chasing her dream — she joined the Cleveland Rockers that same year, playing 10 games and averaging 1.8 points, 0.9 assists, and 1.0 rebounds.
A back injury impacted her WNBA experience, and that year she chose to continue her career overseas. The following season, she shined with Keflavik in Iceland, where she won both the national championship and the national cup, and was named Foreign Player of the Year.
Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle.
Boucek as a coach in the WNBA
After ending her playing career, Boucek transitioned into coaching. Her first role came in 1999 as an assistant with the Washington Mystics, a position she later held with the Miami Sol and the Seattle Storm in subsequent seasons. With the latter, she helped guide the franchise to a WNBA title in 2004.
Jenny’s first opportunity as a head coach came in 2007 with the Sacramento Monarchs, where she remained for nearly three years. In 2015, she got another shot as a head coach, this time with the Storm, a stint that lasted just over two seasons.
Boucek’s arrival in the NBA
After more than a decade in women’s basketball, Jenny Boucek made the leap to the NBA in 2017 when she was hired by the Sacramento Kings as a player development coach, becoming just the fourth woman in league history to hold a coaching position. The others were Lisa Boyer, Becky Hammon, and Nancy Lieberman.
A year later, Boucek joined Rick Carlisle’s staff. The two share a connection as former players for Virginia in college. Their first experience working together came with the Dallas Mavericks, from 2018 to 2021, and they’ve continued together since with the Pacers. After two initial seasons without a playoff appearance, Carlisle and his staff led the Pacers to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024 and 2025 — and now they’re just one step away from the NBA Finals.
