Tiago Splitter

Tiago Splitter Beims (born January 1, 1985)[1] is a Brazilian former professional basketball player who played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently serving as player development coach for the Brooklyn Nets. A three-time All-EuroLeague Team selection prior to his NBA career, he became the first Brazilian-born player to win an NBA championship, in 2014, as a member of the San Antonio Spurs.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Splitter and the second or paternal family name is Beims.

Tiago Splitter

Splitter, as a San Antonio Spurs player, in 2010.
Brooklyn Nets
Position	Player development coach
League	NBA
Personal information
Born	(1985-01-01) January 1, 1985 Blumenau, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Listed height	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2007 / Round: 1 / Pick: 28th overall
Selected by the San Antonio Spurs
Playing career	1999–2017
Position	Power forward / Center
Number	22, 11, 47
Career history
As player:
1999–2000	Ipiranga
2000–2010	Saski Baskonia
2000–2001	→Araba Gorago Alava
2001–2003	→Bilbao Basket
2010–2015	San Antonio Spurs
2011	Valencia
2015–2017	Atlanta Hawks
2017	Philadelphia 76ers
2017	→Delaware 87ers
As coach:
2019–present	Brooklyn Nets (development coach)
Career highlights and awards
NBA champion (2014) All-EuroLeague First Team (2008) 2× All-EuroLeague Second Team (2009, 2010) 2× Spanish League champion (2008, 2010) 3× Spanish Cup winner (2004, 2006, 2009) 4× Spanish Super Cup winner (2005–2008) Spanish League MVP (2010) Spanish League Finals MVP (2010) All-Spanish League Team (2010) 2× Spanish Super Cup MVP (2006, 2007) Spanish Third Division champion (2002)
Career statistics
Points	2,816 (7.9 ppg)
Rebounds	1,779 (5.0 rpg)
Assists	423 (1.2 apg)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Medals Men's Basketball Representing  Brazil FIBA AmeriCup 2005 Santo Domingo 2009 San Juan 2011 Mar del Plata Pan American Games 2003 Santo Domingo FIBA South American Championship 2003 Montevideo

Professional career

Brazil and Spain (1999–2010)

Splitter began his professional career in 1999. In 2000, he began to play in Spain's top level league, the Liga ACB. In 2004, Splitter became a naturalised citizen of Spain.[2] Splitter was named the MVP of the Spanish Supercup tournament in both 2006 and 2007. He was also named to the All-EuroLeague First Team for the EuroLeague's 2007–08 season, after helping Saski Baskonia make it to the 2008 EuroLeague Final Four. The following year, Splitter reached the EuroLeague 2008–09 season's playoffs, but failed to make another EuroLeague Final Four participation. Nevertheless, his performances earned him a spot on the 2008–09 All-EuroLeague Second Team. Splitter was named the Spanish League MVP in 2010.[3]

Splitter was expected to declare for the 2006 NBA Draft, but because the expensive buyout of his contract discouraged NBA teams with high draft picks from drafting him, he remained in the Spanish ACB League for that season. Splitter was automatically eligible for the 2007 NBA Draft, as he was at least 22 years of age at the time of the draft. He was selected by the San Antonio Spurs, in the first round of the draft, with the 28th overall draft pick.

On May 28, 2008, ESPN Brasil reported that Splitter had re-signed with Saski Baskonia, on a two-year contract that would keep him in the Spanish ACB League through the 2009–10 NBA season. The contract allowed the Brazilian to make 8 times more than the NBA rookie scale salary cap would have allowed him to make with the San Antonio Spurs at that time.[4] On June 7, 2008, the San Antonio Express-News reported that Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford, had stated that Splitter had informed the team that he would not be coming to San Antonio for the 2008–09 NBA season.

Splitter had instead signed an extension with Saski Baskonia, that would keep him in the Spanish ACB League through 2010.[5] It was announced on July 9, 2010, that Splitter had opted out of his contract with Saski Baskonia, in order to sign in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs.[6]

San Antonio Spurs (2010–2015)

On July 12, 2010, Splitter signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs.[7] The deal was believed to be worth $11 million over 3 years.

He earned his first start of his NBA career on March 19, against the Charlotte Bobcats, in place of Tim Duncan, who had gotten injured.

Splitter on the bench in 2012

On February 8, 2012, Splitter and teammate Kawhi Leonard, were selected to play in the 2012 Rising Stars Challenge. On February 17, it was revealed that both Splitter and Leonard would be teammates for Team Chuck. However, due to an injury, he was released from Team Chuck and was replaced by Derrick Favors.

On May 29, 2012, in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Scott Brooks, attempted to slow San Antonio's offense through continual the fouling of Splitter, sending him to the free throw line with the "Hack-a-Shaq" strategy.

He played his most productive season with the Spurs in 2012–13 NBA season, averaging 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, while playing all but the final game of the regular season. He started 58 games, as the Spurs finished the West in the two-seed, behind the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs would advance to the 2013 NBA Finals, only to lose to the Miami Heat in seven games, as Miami won their second straight NBA championship.

On July 13, 2013, he re-signed with the Spurs.[8] On June 15, 2014, Splitter won his first NBA championship, after the Spurs defeated the Miami Heat, 4 games to 1 in the 2014 NBA Finals.

After missing 20 out of the first 21 games of the 2014–15 season with a back injury, Splitter played out the rest of the season, until missing the final six games of the regular season, with a calf injury. He returned for the playoffs, but the Spurs were knocked out in the first round by the Los Angeles Clippers, in seven games.[9][10]

Atlanta Hawks (2015–2017)

On July 9, 2015, Splitter was traded to the Atlanta Hawks, in exchange for the draft rights to Georgios Printezis, and a future second-round pick.[11] On February 16, 2016, he was ruled out for the rest of the season, after electing to have surgery to repair his right hip.[12]

On October 11, 2016, Splitter was ruled out for four weeks with a grade 2 hamstring strain.[13] He was ruled out for a further six weeks, on November 26, after an MRI exam revealed a grade 2 right calf strain.[14]

Philadelphia 76ers (2017)

On February 22, 2017, Splitter was traded, along with a second-round draft pick, to the Philadelphia 76ers, in exchange for Ersan İlyasova.[15] On March 21, 2017, he was assigned to the Delaware 87ers, the 76ers' D-League affiliate.[16] He was recalled six days later.[17] On March 28, 2017, he made his debut for the 76ers, recording two points and three rebounds, in seven minutes of playing time, in a 106–101 win over the Brooklyn Nets. Splitter, who had been nursing a right calf injury, entered the game late in the first quarter, and played in his first game since January 31, 2016, when he was a member of the Atlanta Hawks, before undergoing hip surgery.[18][19]

Retirement

On February 19, 2018, Splitter announced his retirement from playing professional basketball, due to a hip injury that had hindered the back-end of his career.[20][21]

Post-playing career

On April 24, 2018, Splitter was hired by the Brooklyn Nets, as a pro scout, with added duties related to on-court player development.[22] On September 23, 2019, he was promoted by the Nets to player development coach.[23]

National team career

Splitter won gold medals with the senior Brazilian national basketball team at the 2003 FIBA South American Championship, the 2003 Pan American Games, the 2005 FIBA AmeriCup, the 2009 FIBA AmeriCup, and the 2011 FIBA AmeriCup. With Brazil, he also played at the 2002 FIBA World Cup, the 2006 FIBA World Cup, the 2010 FIBA World Cup, the 2012 Summer Olympics, and the 2014 FIBA World Cup.[24]

Personal life

Splitter is the son of Cassio and Elisabeth Splitter. He was raised a Christian, despite his father being of Jewish descent.[25] In 2009, Splitter's sister Michelle,[26] also a basketball player, died of leukemia, at the age of 19.[27][28] In 2017, Splitter married his wife, Fernanda.[29]

Career statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	PIR	Performance Index Rating
Bold	Career high

Note: The EuroLeague is not the only competition in which the player participated for the team during the season. He also played in domestic competition, and regional competition if applicable.

EuroLeague

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG	PIR
2003–04	Tau Cerámica	16	1	11.2	.619	.000	.632	2.4	.3	.4	.3	4.0	3.9
2004–05	Tau Cerámica	19	2	17.8	.533	.000	.487	4.5	.9	.7	.7	7.0	7.6
2005–06	Tau Cerámica	24	11	21.6	.599	.000	.547	4.6	.6	1.3	.5	9.5	10.8
2006–07	Tau Cerámica	20	12	24.7	.580	.000	.529	6.0	.8	1.4	.3	10.7	13.2
2007–08	Tau Cerámica	25	13	22.5	.618	.000	.645	5.0	1.1	1.0	.8	14.0	16.1
2008–09	Tau Cerámica	17	12	24.7	.655	.000	.602	5.4	1.6	.6	1.6	14.0	17.8
2009–10	Caja Laboral	16	14	26.7	.535	.000	.636	5.4	1.8	.8	.5	13.0	15.8
Career		137	65	21.5	.593	.000	.582	4.8	1.0	.9	.7	10.5	12.3

†	Denotes season in which Splitter won an NBA Championship

NBA regular season

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2010–11	San Antonio	60	6	12.3	.529	.000	.543	3.4	.4	.5	.3	4.6
2011–12	San Antonio	59	2	19.0	.618	.000	.691	5.2	1.1	.4	.8	9.3
2012–13	San Antonio	81	58	24.7	.560	.000	.730	6.4	1.6	.8	.8	10.3
2013–14†	San Antonio	59	50	21.5	.523	.000	.699	6.2	1.5	.5	.5	8.2
2014–15	San Antonio	52	35	19.8	.558	.000	.750	4.8	1.5	.7	.7	8.2
2015–16	Atlanta	36	2	16.1	.523	.000	.813	3.3	.8	.6	.3	5.6
2016–17	Philadelphia	8	0	9.5	.452	.333	.818	2.8	.5	.1	.1	4.9
Career		355	153	19.2	.555	.143	.697	5.0	1.2	.6	.6	7.9

NBA playoffs

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2011	San Antonio	3	0	16.7	.625	.000	.000	4.7	.3	1.0	.3	6.7
2012	San Antonio	13	0	12.9	.638	.000	.372	2.8	.8	.4	.3	5.8
2013	San Antonio	19	15	20.4	.536	.000	.788	3.1	1.2	.8	.7	6.1
2014†	San Antonio	23	18	22.4	.610	.000	.718	6.1	2.0	.7	.5	7.5
2015	San Antonio	7	7	17.6	.375	.000	.316	4.4	1.3	.6	.1	3.4
Career		65	40	19.1	.572	.000	.586	4.3	1.4	.7	.5	6.3

See also

•  Sports portal

References

1. "Tiago Splitter". ACB.com. Archived from the original on February 3, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
2. "Splitter, jura la Constitución española y jugará en Manresa". Diario AS. January 29, 2004. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
3. "Tiago Splitter named MVP of ACB". Sportando.net. Archived from the original on March 21, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
4. "Tiago Splitter renova com Tau (Tiago Splitter renews with Tau)". ESPN Brasil. May 28, 2008. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
5. "Budenholzer still a Spurs employee, Splitter won't be". San Antonio Express-News. June 7, 2008. Archived from the original on June 11, 2008. Retrieved June 10, 2008.
6. "SOURCES: Spurs Reach Agreement with Tiago Splitter". Ticket760.com. June 26, 2011. Archived from the original on January 29, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2012.
7. "Spurs Sign Tiago Splitter". NBA.com. July 12, 2010. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
8. "San Antonio Spurs re-sign Tiago Splitter". Archived from the original on November 16, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
9. 2014-15 season review: Tiago Splitter
10. Tiago Splitter 2014-15 Game Log
11. "Hawks Acquire Tiago Splitter From San Antonio Spurs". NBA.com. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
12. "Tiago Splitter Opts For Hip Surgery, Out For The Year". NBA.com. February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 16, 2016.
13. "Splitter Out At Least Four Weeks With Hamstring Strain". NBA.com. October 11, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
14. Vivlamore, Chris (November 26, 2016). "Splitter out at least six more weeks with calf injury (updated)". AJC.com. Retrieved November 26, 2016.
15. "Sixers Acquire Draft Pick Considerations, Splitter from Atlanta". NBA.com. February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
16. "76ers' Tiago Splitter: Assigned to D-League". CBSSports.com. March 21, 2017. Retrieved March 26, 2017.
17. "Sixers Recall Tiago Splitter From Delaware 87ers". NBA.com. March 27, 2017. Retrieved March 27, 2017.
18. "Saric, Covington lift 76ers over Nets 106-101". ESPN.com. March 28, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2017.
19. "Hawks trade Tiago Splitter, draft pick to 76ers for Ersan Ilyasova". USA Today. February 22, 2017. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
20. "Tiago Splitter: Announces retirement from basketball". cbssports.com. February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
21. "Primeiro brasileiro campeão da NBA, Splitter anuncia sua aposentadoria". sportv.globo.com (in Portuguese). February 19, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2018.
22. "Brooklyn Nets add former players Pablo Prigioni, Tiago Splitter to staff". NBA.com. April 24, 2018. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
23. "BROOKLYN NETS ANNOUNCE BASKETBALL OPERATIONS PROMOTIONS AND ADDITIONS". NBA.com. September 23, 2019. Retrieved October 4, 2019.
24. Tiago SPLITTER (BRA).
25. Tiago Splitter’s Jewish roots revealed
26. Splitter Draws Inspiration From His Late Sister
27. "Morre jogadora de basquete Michelle Splitter". February 2, 2009.
28. "Euroleague Basketball mourns with Tiago Splitter". Euro league. February 3, 2009. Retrieved November 3, 2017.
29. "Tiago Splitter se encontra com Papa Francisco em Roma: "Uma honra"". globoesporte.globo.com (in Portuguese). November 24, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2018.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NBA.com, or Basketball-Reference.com
• Tiago Splitter at euroleague.net
• Tiago Splitter at FIBA
• Tiago Splitter at acb.com (in Spanish)
• Tiago Splitter on Twitter