After a successful stint at the Portland Trail Blazers as interim coach, Brazilian Tiago Splitter took over as coach of the Chicago Bulls this Tuesday (16), facing his first challenge as head coach in the NBA.
At 41 years old, the former Brazilian center becomes the 25th coach of one of the league’s most iconic franchises, a team known worldwide for the glory days of the Michael Jordan era.
“The Bulls represent everything I love about this sport: they have a proud tradition, a passionate city and a group of young, winning players willing to improve,” said Splitter in the official announcement.
In Chicago, he takes over from Billy Donovan, who has held the position since 2020, but has only led the team to the playoffs once.
This bad record led to the dismissal, in April, of the head of basketball operations, Arturas Karnisovas.
His successor, Bryson Graham, sees Splitter as the ideal leader for a squad that, lacking big stars, needs to rebuild around young players like Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis after years of trades and failed draft picks.
During the selection process, “Tiago stood out for his game intelligence, his ability to connect with players and develop them, and the way his teams compete in every match,” Graham said.
“He has achieved victories at all levels of the game, both as a player and as a coach, across multiple continents, and we believe his vision fits perfectly with our young squad.”
“We grew up watching the Bulls”
As a child, Splitter was a fan of the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan, and in particular, Jordan’s longtime loyal henchman Scottie Pippen.
“We grew up watching the Bulls (…). I remember having a haircut like Scottie Pippen when I was a kid”, commented Splitter in a recent interview with Globo Esporte.
“I just didn’t shave the sides completely, because it would have looked horrible,” he joked.
“What Michael Jordan did for world basketball was fascinating and, naturally, this impact reached Blumenau, the small city where I was born and raised,” he added.
“It’s great to see Tiago Splitter become coach of the Bulls! I’m very, very, very happy for you, my friend! Congratulations and good luck!”, wrote in X the Argentine Emanuel Ginóbili, who was the Brazilian’s teammate on the San Antonio Spurs squad that won the title in 2014.
Splitter’s appointment as head coach is a milestone for Latin American basketball in the NBA.
James Borrego, who has Mexican roots but was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, became the league’s first Hispanic coach when he was hired by the Charlotte Hornets in 2018.
In 2024, Jordi Fernández also became the first Spaniard to manage a team in the NBA, taking charge of the Brooklyn Nets.
First Brazilian champion
Splitter, who served as an assistant coach for the Nets (2019-23) and Houston Rockets (2023-24), took over the Trail Blazers on an interim basis last October following the sudden departure of Chauncey Billups.
In the midst of a major betting scandal, Billups was arrested by the FBI for participating in a scheme that involved rigged poker games and leaking team information to gamblers.
Under the Brazilian’s command, Portland ended the season with a campaign of 42 wins and 40 losses and advanced to the playoffs for the first time since 2021, being eliminated in the first round by Victor Wembanyama’s San Antonio Spurs (4-1).
Tiago Splitter also has seven years of experience as an NBA player, having won the league title with the Spurs in 2014.
As a player, this 7-foot-1 former center had a seven-year career in the NBA.
Between 2010 and 2015, he became a fundamental part of the Spurs alongside Ginóbili and Tim Duncan and, in 2014, he was the first player born in Brazil to win a championship ring.
He later played for the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers before announcing his retirement in 2018 due to a hip injury.
Splitter also holds Spanish citizenship, having played for Baskonia for a decade (2000–2010).
