Tiago Splitter knows he stands out from the crowd.
When he debuts with the Chicago Bulls this fall, Splitter will become the second-tallest head coach in the history of the NBA. This is mostly just a trivia fact, but it also reflects how few former big men successfully rise through the ranks of the league after their playing careers end.
During his introductory news conference on Wednesday at the Advocate Center, Splitter didn’t mince words when he fielded a question about this trend.
“You want the honest answer on that?” Splitter grinned, leaning back in his chair, microphone balanced in one hand. “All right.”
Splitter proceeded to dole out a piece of (somewhat joking) tough love. Sure, he said, centers are physically gifted in size, but that can obscure a lack of other skills. Coaches need to be smart. They need to know how to balance the combustible ego of a star against the confidence of a developing player. They need to navigate an 82-game season with tact and endurance in equal measures.
“Coaching is different,” Splitter said. “Of course, you’ve got to know basketball, but you’ve got to make them believe. You’ve got to know how to teach. You’ve got to know how to put people together, show them a vision, show them a path.”
Both during and after their careers, Splitter believes, centers are rarely valued for these traits. Splitter, 41, knows that makes him unique. He’s a Brazilian big man only eight years removed from his own playing career. He earned his first head coaching gig in Paris. He hasn’t always followed a traditional path — or fit a traditional mold for an NBA coach.
New Bulls coach Tiago Splitter poses for pictures after a news conference on June 17, 2026, at the Advocate Center. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
But Splitter also shrugs off the expectations placed upon him due to his unorthodox profile as a coaching candidate.
“I wanted to prove people wrong because sometimes we put labels like that,” Splitter said. “I don’t like to put labels on people. I hate it when they put them on me. And I like to prove people wrong.”
Labels did not matter to new executive vice president of basketball operations Bryson Graham when he embarked on a lengthy hiring search for the team’s new head coach. Graham emphasized that he tried not to focus too heavily on candidates with whom he had a personal relationship, casting a wide net for different styles and experiences.
Splitter ultimately stood out to Graham for a few key characteristics: communication, competitiveness and curiosity.
“He checked a lot of our boxes,” Graham said.
To secure Splitter as their new head coach, the Bulls first had to pry him away from Portland, where he led the Trail Blazers to the playoffs after taking over as interim coach on the second day of the 2025-26 season. Splitter was elevated into the position after the FBI arrested former head coach Chauncey Billups as part of a massive gambling investigation. This unprecedented circumstance forced Splitter to grow into the role as the season progressed, highlighting his ability to adapt in a challenging conference.
Despite posting a 42-40 record in his first season, Portland did not successfully promote its interim coach to a permanent position. Splitter shrugged off speculation that his departure was connected to stinginess under the new ownership of Tom Dundon, who has slashed spending since acquiring the Trail Blazers last summer.
“I want to leave that behind,” Splitter said. “I want to think about the Bulls. That’s my goal right now. I want to leave that behind. I respect all opinions. I think there’s too many things being said already.”
With Portland in the past, Splitter is embracing the opportunity to finally mold a team to his own vision after a challenging year as an interim.
The first priority for the Bulls under their new coach is to build a young core that can serve as a foundation for future competitiveness. Splitter and Graham are unified in their belief that development will be the centerpiece of the Bulls in their first few years as a duo. The continued evolution of the Bulls’ player development system will be a “group effort” between the pair.
One key aspect of player development will be the continued growth of 2024 first-round draft pick Matas Buzelis, who Splitter praised as a talented two-way player known in Chicago for his ability to learn quickly and absorb coaching. Splitter said he plans to immediately begin daily work with Buzelis to improve his physical strength, shooting and court vision.
“You’ve got to work everything and see on the day-to-day where he can affect better, to win basketball games,” Splitter said. “We see him as a very complete player, both ends, defense and offense.”
Splitter knows that relationships built with young players like Buzelis will serve as the bedrock for his entire tenure in Chicago. And when he thinks about player-coach relationships, Splitter always leans on his own experience playing for the revered Gregg Popovich, under whom he won an NBA championship in 2014.
Although Splitter is not attempting to emulate Popovich’s unique style, he embraces the former coach’s emphasis on connecting with players, reflecting on the way that “Pop” made every player feel like his own grandson.
Developing similar relationships will be a major focus for Splitter in Chicago. That effort began Wednesday with his initial introductions over the phone and in person to players such as Buzelis.
“That’s the foundation of everything you do, especially at this level,” Splitter said. “If you don’t have that, it’s really hard to demand and make them respect you. The foundation is connecting with the players in different ways. Generations, they change. You’ve just got to adapt. This is the first thing you’ve got to do.”
Both Splitter and Graham are realistic about the long-term trajectory for the Bulls, who will pick No. 4 and No. 15 in next week’s NBA draft. This is a team on the ground floor of a rebuild. Improvement will take time. In the meantime, patience will be a necessity.
But despite this coherent messaging, neither party can provide a clear description of what Bulls fans should expect in the immediate future. Splitter noted the importance of molding his preferred up-tempo style to the available personnel on the roster, but avoided specificity regarding his expectations for the 2026-27 season.
“It’s really hard to tell you, ‘Hey, listen, we’re going to win X or Y or Z amount of games,’” Splitter said. “That would be very not smart by me saying that. We’re going to compete every day. We’re going to set high standards. And we’re going to go from there.”