After a dominant stretch in the group stages, Team USA locks horns with Brazil in the quarter-finals clash. Many have already written off the South American side and given a clean chit to LeBron James & Co. However, in the game of basketball, the tables can turn in a matter of a quarter. Since it’s a knockout game, it could even drop the curtains on the US side. Moreover, with a 39-year-old coach, Tiago Splitter, an NBA Champion, by their side, Brazil can indeed upset the table toppers. He also played with 76ers center, Joel Embiid!

Speaking of the Brazilian coach, the 6 ’11 former center has a lot of basketball history before putting on the coach’s hat. Despite being the same age as LeBron James, Splitter became professional much earlier than the 4x NBA Champion. King James came into the league as a decorated rookie in 2003. Meanwhile, the Santa Catarina-born began his professional career in 1999, playing for the Spanish team, Liga ACB. Tiago Splitter stayed in the Spanish league till 2010, stacking his cabinet with plenty of accolades. Notably, Saski Baskonia, the team with which he traveled the most, retired his jersey #21 as a mark of respect for his contribution.

Tiago Splitter’s accolades

One might wonder how Tiago Splitter got into the NBA if he continued playing in Liga ACB until the age of 26. As per the NBA rules, the age limit for a player to declare for the draft is 2022. Well, there is a small history behind it too. Initially, Splitter was expected to declare for the draft in 2006, three years after LeBron James entered the league. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned due to teams’ concerns about costly contract buyouts. Notably, the Brazilian center had already become a star in the Spanish league.

Nevertheless, in NBA Draft 2007, the San Antonio Spurs selected him as the 28th overall pick in the first round. Even then, Splitter didn’t make his NBA debut and instead extended his contract for two more years with Saski Baskonia. Eventually, he made his NBA debut in 2010 after signing a three-year deal with the Spurs for $11 million.

Tiago Splitter’s NBA run with Tim Duncan and Joel Embiid

The Brazilian big man had a 5-season-long stint with the Spurs, playing alongside greats like Tim Duncan, Tony Parkey, and then-rising star Kawhi Leonard. Ultimately, Splitter won his NBA championship in 2014 and became the first Brazilian to do it. The star’s notable season came in 2012-13 averaging 10.3 ppg and 6.4 rpg. In the following season, the Spurs took on the defending champions Miami Heat in the Finals.

Notably, Splitter went toe to toe against James near the rim. Infamously, Splitter had the bitter experience of getting rejected by the man himself. Ironically, Splitter recalled it himself after his retirement. During the 2018 NBA All-Star weekend, the big man turned into an interviewer for NBA Brazil and interrupted the superstar’s media interaction. He asked King James a couple of questions after hilariously saying, “Alright LeBron let me talk. You’re not going to block me today, right?”

Coming back to his NBA career, the Atlanta Hawks traded Splitter, but it wasn’t a great run. After just 36 playing games, he had to call it a night with a season-ending surgery. In fact, the surgery almost ended his professional career. In 2017, the Philadelphia 76ers traded him and this is where he played alongside Joel Embiid. The big man didn’t make any difference with the Philly side, as he played only 8 games, averaging 4.9 ppg. In the following year, he announced his retirement after struggling to recover from his hip surgery. Thus, it did not work well with Joel Embiid and the Phillys.

Splitter picks up the coaching hat

After an illustrious basketball career, Splitter didn’t take a step back from the game. In 2018, the big man entered the Brooklyn Nets fold as a pro scout and eventually worked his way up as a player development coach. Following that, he joined the Houston Rockets as the assistant coach in July 2023. Until recently, Splitter parted ways with the Rockets and signed with Paris Basketball as a head coach in July 2024.

Apart from that, he lent his services to the national side as well. In 2021, he joined the Brazilian side as an assistant coach. Currently, he is Brazil’s head coach in the Paris Olympics. The team hasn’t had a great run so far in the tournament. They barely managed to qualify for the knockouts after losing 2 games on the group stage.

However, the Brazilian side has a second chance to prove themselves. Unfortunately, they have to face the mighty US side in the quarter-finals. Will the Brazilian side weather the US storm? Let us know in the comments.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.