The Chicago Bulls are in the middle of a reboot, and rookie Dailyn Swain already knows exactly what kind of coach he’s playing for.
Swain, the No. 15 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft out of Texas, didn’t hold back when asked about new head coach Tiago Splitter. According to K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Sports Network, Swain described Splitter as the rare kind of coach who actually gets it because he lived it.
“He’s always intense, passionate about the game,” Swain said. “He was a player, so he did all this stuff before. He was always motivating, never like ‘C’mon guys.’ You can see how much he loves the game, so it was easy to give your all for a coach like that.”
Splitter’s path to the Bulls bench is anything but typical. He spent 18 years playing professionally, including a long run with the San Antonio Spurs and shorter stints with the Atlanta Hawks and Philadelphia 76ers. After retiring in 2017, he moved into coaching as an assistant with the Brooklyn Nets and later the Houston Rockets. Then came the detour nobody saw coming.
Last year, Splitter was an assistant with the Portland Trail Blazers when Chauncey Billups got caught up in the federal gambling probe tied to the NBA. Billups was indicted, and suddenly Splitter was the guy holding the clipboard. He got the Blazers to the postseason, which is a lot more than anyone expected from that situation.
So how did he end up in Chicago? The Bulls needed a reset. They have a young roster, a new front office, and a coach who just proved he could keep an NBA team from falling apart under insane circumstances. It’s an unusual mix, but it might be exactly what this franchise needs.
Summer League Debut Brings Mixed Results
Chicago tipped off its new era Friday night at the NBA Summer League in Vegas, and it was not the cleanest start. The Bulls lost 97-96 to the Memphis Grizzlies, even though rookie Caleb Wilson went off for 35 points — an unofficial record for a Summer League debut.
Swain put up 7 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in the loss. Nothing flashy, but it’s one game. Summer League is mostly about finding chemistry and not getting hurt.
The bigger picture is this: Splitter has the kind of résumé that players actually respect. He played 14 seasons in the NBA. He guarded Tim Duncan in practice and traded elbows with Dirk Nowitzki. When Splitter talks about effort, he’s not reciting a philosophy textbook. He’s describing what he did for a living.
Whether that translates to wins in Chicago is still an open question. But the Bulls have a coach who has already survived one of the strangest situations in recent NBA history. The rebuild might not be pretty, but it’ll at least be interesting.
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