Before Tyrese Haliburton`s memorable game-winning shots in the NBA Finals (Game 1 vs. Thunder) and Eastern Conference finals (Game 1 vs. Knicks), an earlier, perhaps even more crucial, improbable game-winner played a significant role in the Indiana Pacers` playoff journey.
It was March 11, and the Pacers were battling for playoff positioning among several teams in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings. This particular game against the Milwaukee Bucks proved vital for securing home-court advantage in the first round.
With just 3.9 seconds remaining and the Pacers trailing by three, head coach Rick Carlisle turned to one of his lead assistant coaches.
He instructed her that it was time to utilize one of the specialized out-of-bounds plays she had devised. This play, much like the coach who designed it, was the product of a remarkable basketball career.
Pacers assistant Jenny Boucek first conceived the idea for this play because she had played semi-professional flag football while serving as an assistant coach with the WNBA`s Miami Sol from 2000 to 2002.
She further refined it during her time as the head coach of the Seattle Storm from 2015 to 2017, collaborating with the legendary point guard Sue Bird.
And now, here was Carlisle, entrusting her to execute it in one of the most critical moments of the Pacers` season.
The basic concept is straightforward. With the player inbounding the ball positioned across the half-court line, the other four players line up behind the half-court line, resembling a four-receiver formation in football. Then, each player runs a pre-designed route, involving various curls and post patterns towards the basket. The in-bounder quickly finds the open player, anticipating that the defense will be caught off guard somewhere.
This is precisely what unfolded when the Pacers ran Boucek`s play against the Bucks. Andrew Nembhard acted as the in-bounder/quarterback in the four-wide setup. Haliburton, positioned on the far side, curled behind his three teammates and sprinted towards the near corner, where he received the pass and sank an off-balance three-pointer while simultaneously drawing a foul.
That four-point play initiated what has become a series of spectacular moments for Haliburton this postseason. But it was also a significant one 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.”
That considerable responsibility was again evident in the Pacers` victory over the Thunder in Game 1 of these NBA Finals.
After Haliburton connected on his most recent game-winning shot with just 0.3 seconds remaining, cameras showed the Pacers` huddle where Boucek, not Carlisle, was directing the defensive strategy for the game`s final possession.
Indiana successfully defended the play, including Alex Caruso`s inbound lob at the rim, which sailed out of bounds, sealing yet another comeback win 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. 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 narrative and an even more remarkable personal one — evolving from a player whose dreams were disrupted to a coach with aspirations extending beyond the court that seemed to challenge them.
Balancing Coaching and Motherhood
Like many assistant coaches, Boucek finds it difficult to sleep after a game until she has reviewed the entire game on film and prepared clips to show the team the following morning. However, unlike any other assistant coach in the NBA, Boucek has an additional overnight duty: planning activities for her 6-year-old daughter, Rylie, who travels with her.
The team covers the travel expenses for Rylie and another adult — typically one of Boucek`s parents or friends — to accompany her on any road trip lasting more than three nights.
Carlisle, who expresses admiration for Boucek`s ability to manage both roles, aimed to support her success in leading 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.”
The Pacers have significantly improved defensively, climbing from 24th in the previous season (2022-23) to 14th this season. They maintained a top-10 defense from January 1 through the end of the regular season, and have enhanced their performance by five points per 100 possessions in the playoffs compared to last postseason.
Forward Pascal Siakam, a three-time All-Star, credits Boucek with facilitating his rapid 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 abilities have been praised throughout the postseason, shares this sentiment.
“Her knowledge of the game,” he said, “is one of the best I`ve been around.”
A Journey Fueled by Passion and Family Legacy
There was a period when Boucek never believed any of this would be achievable. In fact, there were numerous such instances.
After concluding her playing career at the University of Virginia, Boucek thought her basketball journey had ended.
The WNBA had not yet launched, and she had pursued studies to become a doctor, following the path of many in her family. However, it happened that she needed a fifth year in Charlottesville to complete her double major before medical school.
That year coincided with Year 1 of the WNBA. She had been away from basketball for eight months and had already come to terms with the end of her identity as a basketball player. But she read one day during that final year that there would be an open tryout nearby, and decided she would regret it if she didn`t at least give it a shot.
She made the team and signed with the Cleveland Rockers.
“I saw the women in the stands — grown women in tears at our games,” Boucek said. “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.`”
Even after suffering a career-ending injury in 1998, Boucek still felt a strong calling.
Ron Rothstein, who was an assistant coach with Mike Fratello`s Cleveland Cavaliers, frequently attended Rockers games and practices on his days off. He admired the way the women played, he said, appreciating their passion and toughness, and he particularly respected a defensive specialist named Jenny Boucek.
A few years later, after Fratello`s coaching staff was dismissed by the Cavs, Rothstein received a call from Miami Heat president Pat Riley inquiring about his interest in coaching the new WNBA team in Miami. It was an easy decision — but he also understood that his first hiring decision would be crucial to his success.
“I knew I had to hire women because I`d never coached women,” Rothstein said.
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. 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 expresses that she couldn`t have asked for a better mentor, either.
“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.”
Boucek often discusses the science and systematic aspects of the game. It`s how she views the world.
Her mother`s side of the family includes individuals with backgrounds in neurology and psychiatry. Her maternal grandfather, Robert Heath, was a renowned psychiatrist who, she said, was a pioneer in the practice of deep brain stimulation in the 1950s.
Her father`s side specializes in pediatric cardiology. Her father and uncle were both specialists in pediatric heart transplants. Her uncle, Mark Boucek, was part of the team that performed a successful but controversial baboon heart transplant on a 12-day-old infant named Baby Fae, which directly led to 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 said. “Understanding them. But also lots of researchers who are wired to challenge the status quo.”
Paving a New Path
Boucek is proud of her family`s achievements and legacy. And she believes they have influenced her own journey as well.
She did not intentionally set out to be the first single mother on an NBA coaching staff, nor to potentially become the first female head coach in the league. But now that she is on this path, she has approached the challenge with a distinctly scientific methodology.
“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.` 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 feels comfortable having these conversations now, but it wasn`t always the case.
She concealed her pregnancy while working on the Sacramento Kings` staff in 2017-18, only informing then-Kings coach Dave Joerger after they played a tennis match during which she became concerned her heart rate exceeded a safe level for a pregnant woman of advanced maternal age.
Joerger was supportive of the pregnancy, Boucek noted, but agreed to her request to keep it 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 said. “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 among the first people who questioned why she couldn`t pursue both.
“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.”
However, mentally, Boucek was still struggling to accept the possibility that it might not be feasible.
“I always wanted to be a mom,” she said. “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. 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.”
That decision triggered a new set of 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, once she decided to risk everything for motherhood, was a network of friends and coaches who supported her and provided what she needed to excel in both capacities.
“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 said. “This woman can coach. She can teach. She can communicate. She`s tough — and she`s a mom. It`s F`ing powerful.”
