Chandler Parsons and Mavericks Coach Rick Carlisle Are Basically Besties
By Dan Favale
There may not be two people in the NBA who are closer off the court than Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle and Chandler Parsons.
No, seriously.
Tim MacMahon penned a piece over at ESPN.com that dives into the complicated, best-friends-forever dynamic shared between Carlisle and Parsons. The entire thing is worth a read, and it includes an opening anecdote that recalls the time Carlisle grilled Parsons about his dating situation before he ever actually suited up for the Mavs. But it’s the following excerpt that wholly encapsulates the extent of their father-son bromance:
"Carlisle and Parsons, who can look out the windows of their posh apartments in Uptown Dallas high-rises and see each other’s balconies, spend an inordinate amount of time together. Most of it is basketball-based, as Parsons often shoots and watches film with Carlisle in one-on-one sessions. But they also socialize some, having attended concerts together and shared many meals, occasionally with Carlisle’s wife and daughter and Parsons’ parents and/or longtime best friend/personal assistant, Pausha Haghighi. They’ve also played late-night ping pong on the table in the Mavs’ locker room. (Parsons and Carlisle both swear they won the three-game set, and Carlisle complains that “my table tennis brethren would be disappointed with his [illegal] serve.”)"
Okay, this is flat-out dope.
Imagining Carlisle and Parsons waging pingpong warfare and spending endless time analyzing film together is one thing. That we can actually picture them splitting milkshakes, vacationing together and even sleeping over one another’s “posh apartments,” and be mostly serious about it, is something else entirely.
It will be interesting to see how this tight-knit bond impacts the player-coach relationship—something MacMahon also seeks to tackle—as the years go on and Parsons prepares for free agency in either 2016 or 2017. But, for now, we can all rest soundly knowing that Carlisle and Parsons are, it seems, the very best of friends—29-year age difference be absolutely damned.