Tiago Splitter, Trail Blazers’ interim coach, reflects on his time with the Spurs, as San Antonio surges this season.
SAN ANTONIO — Former San Antonio Spurs center and current Trail Blazers interim head coach Tiago Splitter has faced the Spurs twice this season, going 1-1 against his old squad.
But after two meetings with the Spurs, Splitter sees a vastly improved team that will only get better over time.
“I mean, they are flourishing, right? They have a lot of talent,” he said.
“Flourishing” might be a slight understatement for how well the Spurs are playing this season.
The team is 32-15, which is good for second in the West and third overall in the league, and they own the fifth-best Net Rating at 5.1, recorded 17 clutch wins, and the fourth-best Defensive Rating in the NBA at 111.3.
That is a huge leap forward from the previous season, when they struggled to record 20-plus wins and ranked at the bottom of the NBA in key statistical categories.
In addition, the Spurs started the season 5-0, have not lost more than two consecutive games, and toppled the league’s best—the Thunder (three times), the Nuggets, the Magic, the Rockets, and the Celtics—often without Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle.
“Of course, the Spurs, last couple season losing games, but now those guys are getting experience,” Splitter added.
Gaining experience has been key to the Spurs’ development over the past seasons, as they enter the 2025-26 season.
Sure, San Antonio usually recorded more losses than wins during its six-year playoff drought, but the core players, such as Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell, were getting playing time that is paying dividends.
Both are veterans who understand their roles and contribute important minutes off the bench this season; they are key reasons why the Spurs have one of the best records.
Even last season, then-rookie Castle received valuable minutes, Wembanyama learned the NBA style, and now rookie Dylan Harper is a key bench player for San Antonio. The same is true for Carter Bryant, who is getting valuable minutes in San Antonio rather than being sent to the G League or stuck on the bench.
Mixing NBA veterans like Harrison Barnes, De’Aaron Fox, Luke Kornet, Kelly Olynyk, and Bismack Biyombo to help develop younger players both on and off the court creates a winning formula.
“They’re good,” he said. “It’s a great team.”
SPLITTER WALKS DOWN SPURS MEMORY LANE
When the Spurs and Blazers met in San Antonio on Jan. 3, Splitter reflected on his five seasons with the Spurs, recalling the memories and moments he was a part of.
“From the first game I played here, the friends I made with Manu (Ginobili), Boris (Diaw), Patty (Mills), the whole team was a very special group of guys that spent a lot of time together,” he reflected. “Playing, spending time off the court as well.”
San Antonio picked Splitter 28th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft. He joined the Spurs in 2010 and played a key role in the franchise’s 2014 NBA championship run.
The Spurs traded him to Atlanta in 2015, and he went on to play with the 76ers and the G League’s Blue Coats before announcing his retirement in 2018 with career averages of 7.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.
He became the Trail Blazers’ interim coach in October 2025 after Chauncey Billups was arrested in a gambling scandal.
And he still hasn’t forgotten his Spurs roots and stays in contact with the friends he made in San Antonio.
“I keep in touch these days. So, it is special,” he said.