Before Tyrese Haliburton`s dramatic game-winning shots against the Oklahoma City Thunder and the New York Knicks during these NBA Finals and Eastern Conference Finals, another crucial game-winner set the stage for the Indiana Pacers` deep playoff run.
On March 11, the Pacers were vying for playoff seeding in the competitive Eastern Conference. This particular game against the Milwaukee Bucks proved vital in securing home-court advantage for the first round.
With just 3.9 seconds left and the Pacers trailing by three points, Head Coach Rick Carlisle called upon one of his key assistant coaches.
He instructed her to use a unique out-of-bounds play she had designed. This play, much like its creator, was born from an unusual basketball path.
Pacers assistant Jenny Boucek first conceived the idea for this play while she was an assistant coach for the WNBA`s Miami Sol from 2000 to 2002, drawing inspiration from playing semipro flag football.
She further refined it during her time as the head coach of the Seattle Storm from 2015 to 2017, collaborating with Hall of Fame point guard Sue Bird.
Now, in a critical moment of the Pacers` season, Carlisle turned to her to execute it.
The concept is straightforward: With the inbounder positioned across half court, the other four players line up behind the half-court line, resembling a four-receiver football formation. Each player then runs a designed route toward the basket. The inbounder quickly passes to the open player, anticipating the defense will be caught off guard.
This is precisely what unfolded when the Pacers used Boucek`s play against the Bucks. Andrew Nembhard acted as the inbounder/quarterback. Haliburton, positioned on the far side, curled behind his teammates and cut toward the near corner. There, he received the pass and drained an off-balance three-pointer while drawing a foul.
That four-point play marked the beginning of several magical postseason moments for Haliburton, but it was also a significant moment for Boucek.
“That was a pretty pivotal moment in our season,” Carlisle told ESPN. “That`s why, to me, she`s on a path to possibly be the first female head coach in the NBA. Not only because of her knowledge but because of her ability to build relationships, her ability to listen and her humility.”
“I just think with the level of responsibility that she has with us, the league is taking notice,” he added.
Her level of responsibility was evident again in the Pacers` Game 1 win over the Thunder in the NBA Finals.
After Haliburton hit his latest game-winning shot with 0.3 seconds left, ABC cameras focused on the Pacers` huddle where Boucek, not Carlisle, was leading the defensive strategy for the final play.
Indiana successfully defended the final possession, including Alex Caruso`s inbound lob attempt at the rim, which went out of bounds, sealing another comeback victory for the Pacers.
“Rick said to me, `I need this to be your role this year,`” Boucek told ESPN. “And I don`t want to let him down, I don`t want to let the team down. But sometimes I feel like he`s throwing me in the deep end and saying, `You`re either going to sink or swim. But I believe in you.`”
“At times that`s more than I believe in myself,” she continued. “But when somebody believes in you, they give you an assignment, and you do your best to fulfill that because you`re part of a team. And you want to do your small part.”
That belief has fueled an extraordinary professional journey and an even more remarkable personal one – from a player whose dreams were seemingly ended by injury to a coach whose aspirations beyond the court once felt like they might jeopardize her career.
Balancing Coaching and Motherhood
Like many assistant coaches, Boucek reviews game film late into the night, preparing clips for the team. However, unlike any other assistant coach in the NBA, Boucek has an additional overnight responsibility: planning activities for her 6-year-old daughter, Rylie, who travels with her.
The team covers travel and accommodation costs for Rylie and another adult, usually one of Boucek`s parents or friends, on road trips lasting longer than three nights.
Carlisle, who admires Boucek`s ability to manage both roles, supported her leadership of the team`s defense by hiring former Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen as a defensive consultant.
“She`s got great convictions, great experience and knowledge,” Boylen told ESPN, “but she has this curiosity and this ability to learn and then teach what she learns. She`s an elite communicator, elite teacher.”
“And I felt in my heart — and this is a spiritual thing for me because I have two daughters and I was raised by a strong woman — that one of the reasons that I was meant to be here and be part of this was to support her on being a single mom with a young child running a defense in the NBA,” he added.
The Pacers have shown significant defensive improvement, climbing from 24th in the league in 2023-24 to 14th this season. They ranked in the top-10 defensively from January 1st through the end of the regular season and have improved their playoff defensive rating by five points per 100 possessions compared to last postseason.
Three-time All-Star forward Pascal Siakam credits Boucek with facilitating his quick integration into the Pacers` system.
“Jenny has been awesome,” he said. “Coming to Indy, and having a different system, I really had to adapt to a lot of things, and she`s been really helpful. She gives me great insights on what we want to do, and what we want to accomplish as a team.”
Guard Andrew Nembhard, whose defensive contributions have been widely praised this postseason, echoes this sentiment.
“Her knowledge of the game,” he stated, “is one of the best I`ve been around.”
From Shattered Dreams to a New Calling
There was a period when Boucek doubted any of this would be possible, not just once, but many times.
After finishing her playing career at the University of Virginia, Boucek believed her time in basketball was over.
The WNBA had not yet launched, and she had planned to pursue a career in medicine, following her family`s tradition. However, she needed an additional year at Charlottesville to complete her double major before medical school.
That year coincided with the inaugural season of the WNBA. She had been away from basketball for eight months and had already processed the end of her identity as a player. But one day during that final year, she read about an open tryout nearby and decided she would regret it if she didn`t at least try.
She successfully made the team and signed with the Cleveland Rockers.
“I saw the women in the stands — grown women in tears at our games,” Boucek recalled. “Representing our game, and our league representing all the `noes` that they had experienced in their lifetime because of their gender. And this represented a massive `yes.`”
“And I was like, `This league is important. This league matters,`” she concluded.
Even after a career-ending injury in 1998, Boucek still felt drawn to the game.
Ron Rothstein, then an assistant coach with Mike Fratello`s Cleveland Cavaliers, often attended Rockers games and practices on his days off. He admired the women`s style of play, their passion, and toughness, and specifically noted defensive specialist Jenny Boucek.
A few years later, after Fratello`s staff was dismissed by the Cavs, Rothstein received a call from Miami Heat president Pat Riley, inquiring if he was interested in coaching the new WNBA team in Miami. It was an easy decision, but he knew his first hires would be crucial for his success.
“I knew I had to hire women because I`d never coached women,” Rothstein explained.
He remembered Boucek from her time with the Rockers and also brought in Marynell Meadors from the Charlotte Sting.
“I`m telling you, I was flying blind,” he admitted. “But these two women were our guides. And I learned to trust them because they were smart. They were workaholics. They were just terrific. I couldn`t have done better.”
Boucek feels the same way about Rothstein.
“Ron is known as one of the best teachers to go through the NBA,” Boucek said. “That`s why Riley hired him to mentor [Erik] Spoelstra. I`m so blessed that he took me under his wing and challenged me and poured into me.”
“He opened my eyes and brain to the science of the game, and it was so stimulating,” she added.
Boucek often speaks about the science and systems of the game, reflecting her perspective on the world.
Her mother`s side of the family includes neurology and psychiatry professionals. Her maternal grandfather, Robert Heath, was a renowned psychiatrist credited with pioneering deep brain stimulation in the 1950s.
Her father`s side specializes in pediatric cardiology. Both her father and uncle were experts in pediatric heart transplants. Her uncle, Mark Boucek, was part of the team involved in the successful but controversial baboon heart transplant on infant Baby Fae, which subsequently paved the way for baby-to-baby heart transplant surgeries.
“My lineage has passions for systematic problem-solving and innovation, as well as a love for people and helping them,” she reflected. “Understanding them. But also lots of researchers who are wired to challenge the status quo.”
Boucek takes pride in her family`s achievements and journey, believing they have influenced her own path.
She didn`t necessarily set out to be the first single mother on an NBA coaching staff or potentially the first female head coach in the league. However, now that she is on this path, she approaches it with a deliberate, almost scientific, method.
“I`ve studied a lot on attachment styles and the psychology of relationships,” she said. “And what, as the primary caregiver in your baby`s life, they need from you in years zero to 1, zero to 2, zero to 3, zero to 4, zero to 5.”
“And the conversations have been ongoing with the organizations and Rick — about like, `I think I can do this now. I think I can do that now.`”
“He`s been right there like, `OK, well, as soon as you`re ready for that, we`re going to put you over here in this role,`” she explained. “He`s promoted me along, way outside of my comfort zone, but also with all of our conversations being very honest about, `Does that fit with what I need to be as a mom to my daughter at this stage?`”
Boucek is comfortable having these open conversations now, but it wasn`t always the case.
She initially concealed her pregnancy while on the Sacramento Kings` staff during the 2017-18 season, only informing then-Kings coach Dave Joerger after a tennis match where she became concerned about her heart rate exceeding a safe level for a pregnant woman of advanced maternal age.
Joerger was supportive, Boucek stated, but agreed to her request to keep the pregnancy confidential from the rest of the staff and team.
“I didn`t want anybody to know because I didn`t want the coaches to treat me different, you know, or the players to not want to hurt me, or them to not want me to travel,” she explained. “I thought I might have to make a choice. As women, a lot of times we do.”
“`Are we going to be able to do this and be a great mom or not?` A lot of women unfortunately have to make that choice when they`re looking up the career path. `If I start to feel like I want to have a family, can I keep going? Or do I need to forfeit or just stay in a certain role along the way?`”
Joerger was one of the first people to challenge Boucek on why she couldn`t pursue both career and motherhood.
“I hired Jenny because I really respected her point of view and her knowledge,” Joerger said. “She just has a great outlook and attitude. The players gravitate to her. You can tell how much they respect her.”
Mentally, however, Boucek was still grappling with the possibility that achieving both might not be realistic.
“I always wanted to be a mom,” she shared. “I was busy. I was active. I was traveling the world, coaching all over the world, visiting players all over the world. It wasn`t until I got into my 40s, when I was the head coach of the Seattle Storm, where I kind of looked down at the biological clock and met with a fertility specialist, who said if I wanted to carry my own child I might need to start thinking about it. I was always hoping to find that perfect person to have a kid with, and family and all that.”
“So I started praying,” she continued. “Like, `Would I, could I, should I do this on my own?` And I found peace with it. I had to grieve the loss of my dream of family — the way that I had dreamed it. But I was really certain that I wanted to at least try to be a mom.”
This decision led to further self-reflection and questions. “`Could this cost me a future relationship? Could this cost me my career? People might judge this. Because it`s just not something that was being done. But at the end of the day, it was like, whatever I lose — If I lost everything, if it cost me every penny — I had to try.`”
What she discovered, upon deciding to risk everything for motherhood, was a network of friends and fellow coaches who supported her, providing what she needed to excel in both roles.
“I can`t put into words how much I respect her,” Pacers guard T.J. McConnell said. “She`s a single mom doing this. It`s not easy, and she`s breaking barriers in this sport. She`s such a good coach. We love having her. We`re lucky to have her.”
And now, she stands at the front of the bench for a team competing for an NBA championship.
“I`ve been with eight teams. I`ve been in the Finals four times,” Boylen noted. “This woman can coach. She can teach. She can communicate. She`s tough — and she`s a mom. It`s f***ing powerful.”
