The Chicago Bulls have found their new head coach. Tiago Splitter, the Brazilian-born center who won the 2014 title with San Antonio, will take over the bench in Chicago, per Shams Charania of ESPN. The team confirmed the hiring Tuesday, ending a search that ran most of the offseason.
Splitter is 41 years old. He succeeds Billy Donovan, who stepped down at the end of the 2025-26 season.
From the Spurs’ frontcourt to the NBA sideline
Drafted 28th overall in 2007, Splitter spent seven seasons in the NBA before moving into coaching in 2018. He started as an assistant in Brooklyn, then joined Chauncey Billups’ staff in Portland. When Billups had to step away from the Trail Blazers following his arrest last season, Splitter inherited the role and ran with it.
He went 42-39. Portland reached the playoffs for the first time in five years, claiming the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference. The Blazers planned to keep him. Chicago moved faster.
What the Bulls are actually getting
Splitter is not a marquee coaching name. No head-coach titles, no TV analyst stints, no ties to the franchise’s history. What he did in Portland was take a fractured team and get them to compete every night. That’s not nothing.
Bulls executive vice president Bryson Graham made the case directly: “Tiago stood apart for his basketball intellect, his ability to connect with and develop players, and the way his teams compete every single night. He has won at every level of the game as both a player and a coach, on multiple continents.”
The Bulls have been stuck in no-man’s land for years – not bad enough to land lottery picks, not good enough to contend. Splitter walked into exactly that situation in Portland and came out the other side with a playoff team. Chicago is betting he can do it again, on a bigger stage.
The challenge ahead
He takes over a roster without a clear No. 1 option. No superstar contract, no obvious identity. The Bulls enter the June 23 draft and free agency with cap space, some young talent, and a fanbase that has been patient for a long time.
Splitter succeeds Billy Donovan, who spent six seasons in Chicago before stepping down. The franchise’s struggles run deeper than the bench, though. But a new voice – one with real credibility earned under pressure – is at least a starting point.
Chicago is not a title contender in 2026-27. They could be, though, a team that plays hard and makes things uncomfortable for better rosters. That was Portland under Splitter. Whether it becomes Chicago too is the question the next eight months will answer.
Sources: Shams Charania / ESPN | NBA.com
