Chicago Bulls to hire Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter as next head coach | Reports
PORTLAND, OR - APRIL 24: Head Coach Tiago Splitter of the Portland Trail Blazers stands for the National Anthem before the game against the San Antonio Spurs during Round One Game Three of the 2026 NBA Playoffs on April 24, 2026 at the Moda Center Ar
The Chicago Bulls have their next head coach.
They're hiring a former NBA player who led the Portland Trail Blazers to the NBA Playoffs this past season.
What we know:
The Bulls are hiring Splitter, ESPN reported Monday morning.
He'll replace Billy Donovan as the team's next head coach. Donovan stepped down as the Bulls' head coach after the 2025-2026 season ended and after the team hired Bryson Graham as it's Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations.
Splitter has a long NBA background, spanning to his time as a player. The Bulls gravitated towards him with his playing and coaching experience.
The Bulls are prioritizing player development, and Splitter brings a track record with that with international experience, too.
Splitter won an NBA championship with the San Antonio Spurs during his playing career, taking down the Miami Heat in the 2014 NBA Finals.
After his playing career, Splitter steadily rose as a coach. His resume includes NBA assistant jobs, and a stint with the Brazilian national team. Splitter was also the head coach for Paris Basketball in the LNB Élite and the EuroLeague. Splitter won the French championship and the French Cup in 2025 in his first and only season with the team.
According to ESPN, Splitter was one of four finalists Graham considered. The other three were Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Atlanta Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt and Wes Unseld Jr., who was a Bulls assistant coach under Donovan.
The backstory:
Splitter was one of the biggest names on the coaching carousel this offseason, thanks to the work he did in Portland.
Splitter coached the Trail Blazers to a 42–40 record and the franchise's first playoff appearance since 2021. Splitter led the team to the seventh seed in the playoffs after beating the Phoenix Suns 114–110 in the NBA Play-In tournament. Portland lost to the San Antonio Spurs in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
This comes after Splitter was put in a difficult situation before the season began.
On June 12, 2025, Splitter was named an assistant coach for the Trail Blazers under then-head coach Chauncey Billups.
A few months later, on October 23, 2025, Billups was arrested for alleged connections with a federal gambling investigation and placed on leave by the NBA.
Splitter was named the team's interim head coach, and led the Trail Blazers to the playoffs. Coincidentally, the Trail Blazers' playoff berth conveyed the No. 15 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft to the Bulls, giving Splitter two first-round picks to develop in his first season in Chicago.