Carlisle then signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks, where he played under coach Rick Pitino alongside emerging star Patrick Ewing.

Later in 1989, Carlisle accepted an assistant coaching position with the Nets, where he spent five seasons under Bill Fitch and Chuck Daly.

First, in 1997–98, the Pacers stretched the Chicago Bulls to the limit, narrowly losing the deciding seventh game of the Eastern Conference Finals to the eventual NBA champion.

Then, in 1999–2000 season, the Pacers made the NBA Finals for the first time, ultimately losing to the Los Angeles Lakers.

[8] Bird stepped down as coach and pushed for Carlisle to be selected as his replacement, but Pacers' team president Donnie Walsh gave the job to Isiah Thomas.

In two seasons as head coach, he led the team to consecutive 50–32 records (.610) with Central Division titles and playoff appearances.

For the 2003–04 season, Carlisle returned to the Pacers as head coach to replace Isiah Thomas, who had been fired almost immediately after Larry Bird was brought back as the new President of Basketball Operations.

In the playoffs, the team eliminated the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat before losing to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals.

[14] After leaving Indiana, Carlisle worked as a studio analyst for ESPN[15] before signing with the Dallas Mavericks as the team's new head coach.

In the playoffs, the team pulled off a first round upset win against the San Antonio Spurs, then lost to the Denver Nuggets 1–4 in the Western Conference semifinals.

[4][17] The next year, Carlisle coached the Mavericks to a 55–27 record, first in Southwest Division and second in the Western Conference, but lost in the first round to the Spurs in the 2010 NBA playoffs.

To strengthen the team, Dallas acquired Tyson Chandler, Peja Stojaković, Corey Brewer, J.J Barea and Ian Mahinmi.

In 2014, Carlisle led the Mavericks back to the playoffs as the eighth seed with a 49–33 record where they would meet the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

In 2020, the Mavericks made the playoffs for the first time in three years as the 7th seed in the conference, losing in six games to the Los Angeles Clippers.

[26] Upon Carlisle's arrival in Indiana, the team began a rebuilding process, departing from core players Domantas Sabonis, Malcolm Brogdon, Caris LeVert, T.J. Warren, Jeremy Lamb, Justin Holiday, and Torrey Craig.

"[27] The Pacers also acquired Obi Toppin, Jalen Smith, Aaron Nesmith and Jordan Nwora all from the 2020 NBA draft.

In addition, the team acquired multiple first–round draft picks, sharpshooter Buddy Hield, Daniel Theis, and Tristan Thompson.

With their numerous draft picks, the team selected Bennedict Mathurin, Jarace Walker, Andrew Nembhard, Chris Duarte, Isaiah Jackson, and Ben Sheppard.

[32] Carlisle is an avid pianist and private pilot, who as of September 2015 had logged nearly 200 hours flying his Cirrus SR22T single-engine light aircraft.