Before Tyrese Haliburton`s recent clutch shots in the NBA Finals and Eastern Conference finals, an earlier improbable game-winner proved crucial to the Indiana Pacers` playoff push. It occurred on March 11 against the Milwaukee Bucks, a pivotal game for securing home-court advantage.
With only 3.9 seconds left and the Pacers trailing by three, Head Coach Rick Carlisle called upon one of his lead assistants, Jenny Boucek. He instructed her to use one of her unique out-of-bounds plays – a strategy born from her diverse basketball background.
Boucek initially conceived the idea for this play from her experience playing semipro flag football while she was an assistant coach for the WNBA`s Miami Sol from 2000 to 2002. She later refined it as the head coach of the Seattle Storm (2015-2017), 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 play`s core concept is straightforward: with the inbounder positioned across half court, the other four players line up behind the half-court line like football receivers. They then run various cuts and routes towards the basket. The inbounder quickly passes to the open player, exploiting a momentarily confused defense.
This is precisely how it unfolded against the Bucks. Andrew Nembhard acted as the inbounder/quarterback. Haliburton, starting wide, curled behind his teammates towards the near corner. He received the pass and drained an off-balance three-pointer while drawing a foul, resulting in a four-point play.
That moment was the start of a series of magical performances for Haliburton this postseason, but it was equally significant for Boucek.
“That was a pretty pivotal moment in our season,” Carlisle commented. “To me, that`s why she`s on a path to possibly be the first female head coach in the NBA. Not just because of her knowledge, but her ability to build relationships, listen, and her humility.”
He added, “I think with the level of responsibility she holds with us, the league is taking notice.”
Boucek`s prominent role was again evident in the Pacers` win over the Thunder in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. After Haliburton`s latest game-winner with 0.3 seconds remaining, TV cameras showed Boucek, not Carlisle, organizing the defense for the final opposing play.
The Pacers successfully defended the inbound lob, securing yet another comeback victory.
“Rick told me, `I need this to be your role this year,`” Boucek shared. “I don`t want to let him or the team down. Sometimes I feel like he`s throwing me in the deep end, saying, `You`ll either sink or swim, but I believe in you.`”
She continued, “At times, that belief is stronger than my own. But when someone believes in you and gives you an assignment, you do your best to fulfill it because you`re part of a team and want to contribute your small part.”
Carlisle`s trust has fueled an extraordinary professional narrative and an even more remarkable personal one – transforming her from a player whose dreams were cut short to a coach whose aspirations extended beyond the court, potentially clashing with her professional life.
Like many NBA assistants, Boucek dedicates late nights to rewatching games, analyzing film, and preparing clips for the team. However, unlike others, she has an additional overnight duty: planning activities for her 6-year-old daughter, Rylie, who travels with her.
The team covers travel expenses for Rylie and another adult caregiver (usually Boucek`s parents or friends) on road trips exceeding three nights.
Carlisle, impressed by Boucek`s ability to manage both responsibilities, further supported her lead role in defense by hiring former Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen as a defensive consultant.
“She possesses strong convictions, extensive experience, and knowledge,” Boylen stated. “But she also has this curiosity, the capacity to learn, and then teach what she learns. She`s an elite communicator, an elite teacher.”
Boylen added a personal connection: “I felt in my heart – and this is spiritual for me because I have two daughters and was raised by a strong woman – that one reason I was meant to be here and be part of this was to support her as a single mom running a defense in the NBA with a young child.”
The Pacers have significantly improved defensively, moving from 24th in the previous season to 14th. They boasted a top-10 defense from January 1st through the regular season`s end and have further enhanced their defensive efficiency in the playoffs compared to last year.
Three-time All-Star forward Pascal Siakam credits Boucek with facilitating his smooth integration into the Pacers` system. “Jenny has been awesome,” he said. “Coming to Indy with a different system, I had to adapt to many things, and she`s been incredibly helpful. She provides great insights into our team goals and strategies.”
Guard Andrew Nembhard, whose defensive performance has drawn widespread praise this postseason, agrees. “Her knowledge of the game,” he remarked, “is among the best I`ve encountered.”
There was a time when Boucek believed none of this would be possible – hundreds of times, in fact.
After finishing her collegiate career at the University of Virginia, Boucek thought her basketball journey was complete. The WNBA hadn`t launched yet, and she was pursuing a pre-med track like many in her family. However, she needed a fifth year at Charlottesville to complete her double major before medical school.
That year happened to be Year 1 of the WNBA. Having been away from the game for eight months and having accepted the end of her identity as a basketball player, she read about an open tryout nearby. Deciding she would regret not trying, she attended.
She made the team and signed with the Cleveland Rockers.
“I saw the women in the stands – adult women in tears at our games,” Boucek recounted. “Representing our game, and our league symbolizing all the `noes` they had experienced in their lives due to their gender. This represented a massive `yes`.”
She realized, “This league is important. This league matters.”
Even after suffering a career-ending injury in 1998, Boucek still felt drawn to the sport.
Ron Rothstein, then an assistant coach for Mike Fratello`s Cleveland Cavaliers, would attend Rockers games and practices on his days off. He admired the women`s passion, toughness, and specifically praised the defensive skills of Jenny Boucek.
A few years later, after the Cavaliers` coaching staff was let go, Rothstein received a call from Miami Heat president Pat Riley regarding his interest in coaching the new WNBA team in Miami. He readily accepted, knowing his first key decision would be crucial.
“I knew I had to hire women because I`d never coached women before,” Rothstein explained.
He remembered Boucek from the Rockers and also brought in Marynell Meadors from the Charlotte Sting.
“Honestly, I was flying blind,” Rothstein admitted. “But these two women were our guides. I learned to trust them because they were smart, workaholics, just terrific. I couldn`t have done better.”
Boucek feels the same about her experience. “Ron is known as one of the best teachers in NBA history,” she said. “That`s why Riley hired him to mentor Erik Spoelstra. I`m so fortunate he took me under his wing, challenged me, and invested in me.”
She added, “He opened my eyes and mind to the science of the game, and it was incredibly stimulating.”
Boucek often discusses the science and systems behind basketball, reflecting how she views the world.
Her mother`s family includes professionals in neurology and psychiatry. Her maternal grandfather, Robert Heath, was a renowned psychiatrist credited by Boucek with pioneering deep brain stimulation in the 1950s.
On her father`s side, there`s a background in pediatric cardiology. Both her father and uncle specialized in pediatric heart transplants. Her uncle, Mark Boucek, was part of the team that performed a controversial baboon heart transplant on a 12-day-old infant (“Baby Fae”), a procedure that directly led to baby-to-baby heart transplant surgeries.
“My lineage shares passions for systematic problem-solving and innovation, alongside a love for people and helping them,” she stated. “Understanding them. But also many researchers wired to challenge the status quo.”
Boucek expresses pride in her family`s achievements and journey, believing they influenced her own path. She didn`t intentionally set out to be the first single mother on an NBA coaching staff or a potential first female head coach. Yet, being on this path, she approaches the balance with a methodical, almost scientific perspective.
“I`ve deeply studied attachment styles and relationship psychology,” she explained. “What, as the primary caregiver, your baby needs from you in the crucial early years (zero to 1, zero to 2, etc.).”
She has had ongoing, honest conversations with the Pacers organization and Coach Carlisle about her capacity to take on more responsibility as her daughter grew. “Carlisle has been right there, saying, `Okay, as soon as you`re ready, we`ll put you in this role.` He`s promoted me, pushing me outside my comfort zone, but always with full honesty about whether it aligns with my role as a mother to my daughter at this stage.”
While she is comfortable with these discussions now, it wasn`t always easy.
She concealed her pregnancy while on the Sacramento Kings staff in 2017-18, only revealing it to then-coach Dave Joerger after a tennis match during which she worried her heart rate was unsafe for a pregnant woman of advanced maternal age.
Boucek said Joerger was supportive but agreed to her request to keep the pregnancy private from the rest of the staff and team.
“I didn`t want anyone to know because I didn`t want coaches to treat me differently, or players to worry about injuring me, or the team to not want me to travel,” she explained. “I thought I might have to make a choice. As women, unfortunately, we often do.”
She pondered the common dilemma: “Can we do this [career] and be a great mom, or not? Many women unhappily face that choice when looking up the career ladder. `If I want to start a family, can I continue advancing? Or must I forfeit or stay in a limited role?`”
Joerger was one of the first people to question why she couldn`t pursue both paths.
“I hired Jenny because I genuinely respected her perspective and knowledge,” Joerger commented. “She has a fantastic outlook and attitude. Players gravitate towards her. You can see how much they respect her.”
Mentally, however, Boucek was still coming to terms with the possibility that balancing everything might be impossible.
“I always wanted to be a mom,” she stated. “I was busy, active, traveling globally for coaching and scouting. It wasn`t until I was in my 40s, head coach of the Seattle Storm, that I looked at my biological clock and met a fertility specialist who advised me to start thinking about carrying my own child if that was a goal. I`d always hoped to find the ideal partner to have a child and family with.”
She began praying: “Would I, could I, should I do this on my own?” She found peace with the idea. “I had to grieve the loss of my family dream – the way I had imagined it. But I became absolutely certain that I wanted to at least attempt to be a mom.”
That decision brought new questions. “Could this cost me a future relationship? Could this cost me my career? People might judge this, as it wasn`t commonly done. But ultimately, it was like, whatever I might lose – even if I lost everything, every penny – I had to try.”
What she discovered upon deciding to risk everything for motherhood was a network of supportive friends and coaches who provided what she needed to excel in both her professional and personal roles.
“I can`t express how much I respect her,” said Pacers guard T.J. McConnell. “She`s doing this as a single mom. It`s incredibly challenging, and she`s breaking barriers in this sport. She`s an outstanding coach. We`re fortunate to have her. We love having her around.”
Now, she is a prominent figure on the bench of a team competing for an NBA championship.
“I`ve been with eight teams, been to 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.”
