What is the background of Trail Blazers new coach Splitter? He once helped the Spurs win the championship and is good at cultivating insiders to benefit Yang Hansen.

On October 24, the new NBA regular season has begun in full swing. Due to the arrest of coach Billups, Trail Blazers assistant Thiago Splitter will temporarily serve as the team's head coach! Splitter once won a championship with the Spurs and served as an assistant coach for many teams after retiring.

Split was born in Blumenau, Brazil, in 1985. He is 40 years old this year. In the 2007 draft, he was selected by the Spurs with the 28th overall pick in the first round and played for the Spurs for five consecutive seasons. In the 2013-14 season, Splitter helped the Spurs win the NBA championship. During this period, he played 23 times in the playoffs, 18 of which were starts. He averaged 7.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He played an important role in the Spurs' championship at that time. Since then, he also played for the Eagles and 76ers, and then left the league due to injury.

At the national team level, Split is a meritorious veteran of the Brazilian men's basketball team. He represented the Brazilian men's basketball team in many international competitions and won many honors, including the gold medal at the 2003 Pan American Games and the 2005 and 2009 American Men's Basketball Championships. He averaged 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game at the 2012 London Olympics, demonstrating his strong adaptability to international competitions.

After retiring, Split quickly started his coaching career. In April 2018, he joined the Nets as a scout and was later promoted to development player coach. Since 2019, he has officially served as the assistant coach of the Nets and is deeply involved in tactical layout and player development. In the 2023-24 season, Split joined the Rockets as an assistant coach. During this period, he focused on coaching the rising Turkish star Shen Jing, showing his unique ability to train inside players. In the same year, he also coached the French club Paris, leading the team to win the French Basketball Cup and enter the UEFA Champions League playoffs.

In the summer of this year, Split joined the Trail Blazers coaching staff and was responsible for the training of young insiders such as Yang Hansen and Klingen. With his inside experience as a player, he taught post-up techniques and defensive skills step by step, laying the groundwork for his temporary appointment. It is worth mentioning that in the 2023-24 season when he served as Shen Jing’s assistant coach, Shen Jing ushered in a huge breakthrough, with his average points per game increasing from 14.8 points to 21.1 points. This shows that Split is indeed very experienced in coaching international insider stars.

With Split taking office, the Blazers' tactical style and lineup integration are worth looking forward to. Can this Brazilian legend, who is a championship player, senior assistant and championship coach, help the Trail Blazers survive the crisis? Can he help Yang Hansen improve? Let’s wait and see!