Ex-Spurs champion hired as new head coach of big basketball team in Europe

Dec 13, 2018; San Antonio, TX, USA; A general view of the San Antonio Spurs logo on the court prior to a game between the Spurs and the LA Clippers at AT&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports

Gregg Popovich’s coaching tree is officially expanding overseas.

French professional basketball team Paris Basketball announced to social media this week that they have hired former San Antonio Spurs champion Tiago Splitter as their new head coach. Splitter now takes over the position at just 39 years of age.

Paris Basketball plays in the LNB Pro A league, the top tier of pro basketball in France, and also competes in the EuroCup. They are coming off a highly successful 2023-24 season in which they won two trophies (the 2024 LNB Pro A Leaders Cup and the 2023-24 EuroCup title).

As for Splitter, he is a former European basketball star himself who later made the leap to the NBA. He played for the Spurs from 2010-15 and was a starter on the team that made the 2013 NBA Finals and then won the 2014 NBA championship. Splitter would eventually play for the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers too, finishing his NBA career with averages of 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.

After retiring as a player, Splitter became an assistant coach for both the Brooklyn Nets (from 2019-23) and for the Houston Rockets (for the 2023-24 season). While most still remember Splitter for being on the wrong end of an iconic NBA highlight , he is now ready to make a new name for himself as the head coach for one of the top teams in Europe.

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