Tiago Splitter, 41, was introduced as the Chicago Bulls’ new coach on Wednesday at the Advocate Center, after rising quickly from an interim role in Portland. Splitter says he wants to prove people wrong—an echo of a long-running question: why the Blazers didn
The first time Tiago Splitter got the Trail Blazers’ job, it was only one game into the 2025-26 season.
He took over as interim coach immediately after Chauncey Billups blew up his life. and then—somehow. against the odds the franchise had every right to fear—Portland weathered “various storms” and exceeded all expectations. One turning point can rewrite a career. Splitter didn’t just ride that wave. He cashed in on it.
On Wednesday, at his introductory press conference at the Advocate Center, Splitter, 41, was introduced as the new head coach of the Chicago Bulls. “I think we have a great future in front of us,” he said, and the words landed with the weight of a man who has spent years waiting for his shot.
Splitter’s path to this moment has been anything but linear. The Brazilian coach spent the 2023-24 season as a Rockets assistant under Ime Udoka. Even then. his name wasn’t the one that kept showing up in most conversations—at least not on the surface. The piece of the story people can still picture is the one described behind the bench: there was “a 6-11 dude sitting behind the bench — as in not on it.”.
A head coaching job in the NBA didn’t feel close, according to the account, which is part of why Splitter took a head position in the top French league after one season in Houston. His Paris team won the championship.
When asked about the label that always seemed to follow him—“Foreign. big guy. 6-11”—Splitter said he wanted to prove people wrong. He described how he was behind the bench in Houston with the Rockets and “wanted to prove people wrong. ” then said he wanted to “lead a team” and to “get a group of guys where they didn’t expect to be and get them better. ” doing that in Paris. He also said that after returning to the NBA. “stuff happened” and he got another chance “to lead a team again and do the same thing.”.
At the Bulls introduction, Splitter came back to that theme again. “I don’t like to put labels on people,” he said. “I hate when they put it on me. And I like to prove people wrong.” He mentioned it twice in the same setting. and the subtext—whether he meant it to be there or not—couldn’t be avoided.
Because there’s a growing narrative around the league about what happened in Portland.
The story floating through basketball circles is that Blazers owner Tom Dundon is sports’ “ultimate billionaire cheapskate. ” so much so that he wouldn’t have offered Splitter enough to stay—something Splitter reportedly had to interview for the head position. In that telling, Splitter didn’t accept bargain-basement money rather than treat it as a dealbreaker.
Or maybe, the alternative explanation goes, the Blazers simply weren’t the right fit.
Splitter didn’t litigate the matter in Chicago. When pressed on what he wanted the conversation to be about. he said. “I want to keep that behind.” He added. “I respect all opinions. but I think there’s too many things being said already and I think that’s enough. I’m past that and want to think about the Chicago Bulls.”.
Still, the Bulls aren’t just taking a flyer on a headline. His supporters can point to the way he built trust—first as a player on championship teams, later as a coach who knows what modern basketball demands from big men.
As a player with the Spurs. Splitter is described as an important figure on a winning team that reached the 2014 Finals. The Spurs’ “Foreign Legion” lineup is credited with creating rare chemistry: Tim Duncan and Tony Parker were the main stars. along with up-and-comer Kawhi Leonard. while a quality depth group included Boris Diaw. Patty Mills. Marco Belinelli (ex-Bull). Manu Ginobili. and Splitter himself. The account ties it to “good vibes galore” and a hero for every moment in the 2014 Finals.
A year later. when the Spurs traded Splitter to make room for LaMarcus Aldridge. the emotional reaction from the organization was the kind you rarely see in sports stories. Ginobili called it “painful. ” and coach Gregg Popovich said he was “gutted. ” telling reporters Splitter had been important to the team’s “psyche and fiber.”.
That record matters now because Chicago’s front office is betting that what made Splitter valuable in the Spurs’ rhythm can translate into building a roster and a mindset—especially around big men in today’s game.
Bulls executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham put it plainly: “He’s what we’re looking for.”
And the Bulls’ willingness to hire a coach who was once seen as unimportant by reputation isn’t new, either. There’s a reminder in the past: in 2008. then-GM John Paxson went with Vinny Del Negro. who had been working under then-Suns GM Steve Kerr. Kerr reportedly needed a coach and gave Del Negro an interview, but didn’t make him a finalist. The Bulls went 41-41 twice, with no playoff series wins, on Del Negro’s watch before he was fired.
Splitters’ case is different, but the shared theme is familiar: a team choosing someone who hasn’t been treated as a sure thing.
Before the Bulls introduction, Splitter also talked about the feeling behind his ambition. He told of staying awake deep into the night at home in the 1990s. hiding from his parents so he could watch Michael Jordan and the Bulls make championship magic. The story frames it as proof that long before any press conference, the job had been personal.
Now comes the part every coach dreads and every franchise hopes for: the grind after the moment.
“It’s going to be a lot of work,” Splitter said. “It’s going to take some time. [But] I know what it takes.”
For the Bulls, it’s a prove-it time that arrives with immediate pressure. For Splitter, it’s also a familiar mission—proving people wrong, again, after a career that went from behind the bench to the kind of chair he’s now finally earned.
Tiago Splitter Chicago Bulls coaching hire Trail Blazers Tom Dundon Ime Udoka Advocate Center Bryson Graham Vinny Del Negro Vinny Del Negro 2008 Michael Jordan