Indiana Pacers assistant Lloyd Pierce taking lessons for next opportunity as head coach

Working alongside Rick Carlisle in Indiana, Pierce wants to someday lead another organization to NBA Finals

OKLAHOMA CITY – As Indiana Pacers lead assistant coach Lloyd Pierce stands on the sideline during his first NBA Finals, it’s inevitable that he may daydream a little about being a head coach again in this elite situation one day.

It wasn’t that long ago that Pierce was the head coach of the Atlanta Hawks. While the current head coaching job cycle has just two job openings (New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns), the 49-year-old Pierce believes his experience under Carlisle will have him ready once his opportunity comes again.

Until then, Pierce’s focus is helping coach the Pacers to their first NBA championship. Oklahoma City will host Indiana in Game 1 of the Finals Thursday night.

“I took a head coaching job and I learned a lot,” Pierce told Andscape. “I want to be able to prove to myself. More than anything, I want to propel an organization to where we are right now, the NBA Finals. Every competitor struggles with the day they were let go. And so, everything you do moving forward is first self-awareness, and then second it’s do what you need to do to get back in that seat and prove everybody wrong, and more importantly prove it to yourself.

“And I’m definitely more about proving myself, and so I’m not stressing over it. But I definitely feel like I deserve an opportunity to get back in that seat again.”