Tiago Splitter reportedly named interim Trail Blazers coach following arrest of Chauncey Billups
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Tiago Splitter reportedly has been named interim head coach following the arrest of head coach Chauncey Billups.
Billups was taken into custody by the FBI as part of a federal gambling-related investigation, KGW reported in a story relating ESPN's report of Splitter's selection.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the Trail Blazers also considered lead assistant coach Nate Bjorkgren for the interim role, but Bjorkgren chose to remain in his current position, believing it would better serve the team.
Splitter, a former NBA center who won a championship with the San Antonio Spurs in 2014, joined the Blazers’ coaching staff in June alongside assistants Patrick St. Andrews and Quinton Crawford, KGW previously reported.
Before arriving in Portland, Splitter served as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets and most recently as head coach of Paris Basketball, where he led the team to a French Basketball Cup championship and into the EuroLeague playoffs.
The FBI said Billups is accused of participating in rigged poker games held in Manhattan, Miami, Las Vegas, and the Hamptons. Agents allege the games were organized by prominent New York mafia families.
Billups is expected to make his first court appearance in Portland at 1:30 p.m. Pacific time, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
His arrest came just hours after the Blazers opened their 2025–26 NBA season at the Moda Center against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The team is scheduled to face the Golden State Warriors at home on Friday night.
