NBA
Some key people within the Pacers and Thunder organizations have ties to New England.
The Celtics are long gone, but there are still some local connections to root for on both sides of this year’s NBA Finals.
On the surface, the Oklahoma City vs. Indiana matchup doesn’t sound like it would have many people with New England ties in it.
But, there are key people within both organizations who, some way or another, spent significant amounts of time living in this region.
Oklahoma City’s head coach is from Leominster. Indiana’s coach won a title as a reserve on the 1986 Celtics squad during his playing days. There are two Emerson College alums in the Oklahoma City front office.
A former Celtics first-round pick hit eight 3-pointers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals, helping the Pacers punch their ticket to this round.
From Attleboro to Concord Carlisle, there are several Massachusetts high schools represented within the two organizations.
Don’t forget Celtics legend Larry Bird, who played 13 seasons in Boston and now serves as a consultant for the Pacers.
Here are nine people within the Pacers and Thunder organizations who have New England ties.
Larry Bird, Pacers consultant
New England connection: Boston Celtics
Bird, who was inducted to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1998 for his contributions as a Celtics player, is now with the Pacers as a consultant.
He had previous stints as head coach and president of basketball operations for Indiana and moved into his current role in 2023
The 6-foot-9-inch forward played his entire 13-year career with the Celtics and led them to three championships.
Jim Boylen, Pacers assistant coach
New England connection: University of Maine
Boylen, who has been coaching in either college or professional basketball for more than three decades, was an all-conference point guard at the University of Maine in the mid-1980s.
He was a member of the 1987 All-America East First Team along with Northeastern forward Reggie Lewis, who went on to star for the Celtics.
Rick Carlisle, Pacers head coach
New England connections: University of Maine, Boston Celtics
Carlisle was a bench player on what was arguably the greatest Celtics team of all-time. The 1985-86 squad won 67 games and closed out the Houston Rockets in six games during the NBA Finals.
Carlisle never averaged more than 10 minutes per game for the Celtics, but he had an eye for the game and began his coaching career under former Celtics coach Bill Fitch in 1989 with the New Jersey Nets. He coached the Dallas Mavericks to a title in 2011, and is 10th on the all-time list for playoff wins among NBA coaches.
Carlisle played college basketball at the University of Maine before transferring to University of Virginia. The Celtics took him in the third round of the 1984 draft.
Josh Corbeil, Pacers trainer
New England connections: Attleboro H.S., Boston University
Corbeil has a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from Boston University. He has a doctorate in physical therapy from Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. He interned with the Celtics for three seasons.
He won the Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year award in 2011.
Mark Daigneault, Thunder head coach
New England connections: Leominster H.S., University of Connecticut, College of the Holy Cross
After graduating from Leominster High School, Daigneault enrolled at UConn, where he was a student manager under Jim Calhoun. He spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Holy Cross before Billy Donovan hired him as an assistant at Florida.
He started with the Thunder in 2014 as head coach of the G-League affiliate Oklahoma City Blue. He rose the ranks from G-League coach to NBA assistant to his current position as head coach during his time with the Thunder. He won the NBA Coach of the Year award in 2024.
Rob Hennigan, Thunder vice president of basketball operations
New England connection: Worcester native, Emerson College
Hennigan, who studied Broadcast Journalism at Emerson, is the all-time leading scorer for the school’s basketball program.
Fellow Emerson alum Sam Presti offered Hennigan an internship with the Spurs in 2004, and the pair worked together in Oklahoma City from 2008-2012.
The Magic hired Hennigan as general manager in 2012, and he spent five seasons in Orlando before returning to work with Presti in Oklahoma City in 2017.
Connor Johnson, Thunder assistant coach
New England connection: Amherst College
Johnson began his career as a video coordinator with the Philadelphia 76ers and was head coach of the G-League’s Delaware Blue Coats for three seasons before joining the Thunder as an assistant. He has a bachelor’s degree from Amherst College and a master’s from Villanova.
Aaron Nesmith, Pacers forward
New England connection: Boston Celtics
The Celtics picked Nesmith No. 14 overall in 2020. He struggled to get minutes in Boston during his first two seasons, and the Celtics sent him to Indiana in the deal that landed eventual Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon.
Nesmith averaged twice as many minutes this season with the Pacers than he ever did with the Celtics. One of Indiana’s top defenders, Nesmith also shot 43 percent from 3-point range this season.
Sam Presti, Thunder executive vice president & general manager
New England connections: Concord-Carlisle H.S., Emerson College alum
Presti, the 2025 NBA Executive of the Year, is the architect of this Thunder team. Oklahoma City won a league-best 68 games during the regular season.
He traded Paul George to the Clippers for eventual MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and five first-round picks. He drafted Chet Holmgren and Jaylin Williams. He traded for defensive stopper Alex Caruso.
But, before all that, Presti grew up in Concord and attended Concord-Carlisle High School. He played college basketball at Emerson and recently gave the school $250,000 to establish an endowed fund in support of the men’s and women’s basketball programs.
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