Tiago Splitter achieves a feat only one other rookie NBA head coach has ever done

After leading Paris Basketball to the EuroLeague playoffs last season as a rookie head coach, he has now, as a rookie head coach in the NBA, led the Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs after a four-year wait, becoming only the second head coach in history to lead both EuroLeague and NBA teams to the playoffs in back-to-back years, after David Blatt.

After missing the playoffs for four straight seasons, the Portland Trail Blazers are back in the postseason after an impressive Play-In win against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

While Chauncey Billups was expected to remain their coach for years prior to the illegal gambling scandal, it was rookie head coach Tiago Splitter who ultimately led them back to the playoffs.

This is only Splitter’s second season as a head coach at any level. After beginning his coaching career in 2019 as an assistant in the NBA with the Brooklyn Nets and later serving as an assistant for the Rockets for one season, he took over the head coaching position at Paris Basketball in the EuroLeague last season.

After taking over from another future NBA head coach, Tuomas Iisalo, in Paris, Splitter led the team to the EuroLeague playoffs last season, despite many ranking them near the bottom of the league before the campaign.

Credit AP – Scanpix

Now, as a rookie NBA head coach, he leads the Portland Trail Blazers to the playoffs, despite few having them there before the season.

There are hardly any examples of what he has done in these two seasons in recent history.

The only other coach who has done something similar is former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt.

After winning the EuroLeague in 2014 with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Blatt a year later led the Cavs to the NBA Finals, where they ultimately fell short to the Golden State Warriors in a six-game series.

But compared to that, Splitter making the playoffs with two underdog teams makes this achievement even more spectacular.

The Blazers finished with their best regular-season record since the 2020–21 season, winning 42 games and losing 40.

In the playoffs, the Blazers are set to face Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs.

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