While Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle is locked in on defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the 2025 NBA Finals, he's also keeping a pulse on what's happening around the league.

After defeating the New York Knicks in six games during the Eastern Conference Finals, he was stunned to learn the team fired head coach Tom Thibodeau.

"When I first saw it, I thought it was one of those fake AI things, you know," Carlisle told reporters on June 4. "No way. It's no way possible. I know how the players feel about him too.

"There's not much else to say. Teams and ownership can make these decisions unilaterally. And it's their right to do that."

At the start of his press conference before the Pacers-Thunder showdown on June 5, Carlisle addressed another hot topic.

While Carlisle hopes to bring Indiana their first-ever NBA championship title, he first needed to speak out on reports claiming longtime ESPN color commentator Doris Burke is likely to be fired.

"I saw the things that were leaked yesterday about Doris Burke and I just wanted to say a couple of things. She has changed the game for women in broadcasting,” Carlisle said.

“Doris is a great example of courage and putting herself out there. It was just so sad to see the reports leaked, really unnecessarily, before such a celebrated event. 

"Doris is a friend. I’ve asked her many times, when is she getting into coaching, because she has such great knowledge. There are many women who she’s paved the way for.”

"I don’t know what’s going to happen with all that stuff, but I just want to say thank you to Doris for the example she has put forth for young women like my daughter. 

"She has changed the game. And that’s the reason that she was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame a couple of years ago.”

The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported on Wednesday, "Burke’s spot is not guaranteed for next season, according to sources familiar with ESPN’s preliminary plans."