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Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif
An NBA champion with San Antonio, Tiago Splitter had a solid NBA career before crossing the Atlantic. Now the coach of Paris Basketball, the former center has had plenty of time to see the differences between the two styles of basketball… and one of them concerns the relationship with the referees.
For years now, the Euroleague, and European basketball in general, has been steadily gaining momentum. With leagues becoming increasingly competitive and more and more young players making their way to the NBA, highly regarded by scouts, the Old Continent is thriving on the courts, and even the competition is taking notice.
This is evidence, moreover, that the NBA is considering launching a branch in Europe and that, in an ideal scenario, Adam Silver & co. would like to partner with the Euroleague to develop it rather than simply compete with it. Some cities are already being considered for building a franchise there, including Paris, which was one of the sensations of the 2024-25 season.
Tiago Splitter speaks out on the toughness of the Euroleague game
For its first season in the Euroleague, Paris Basketball surprised many with talents such as Nadir Hifi and T.J. Shorts, to the point of failing to reach the Final Four. At its helm is Tiago Spitter, who is familiar with the NBA, having been a champion with the Spurs. The former center turned coach also believes that the European style deserves to be much more prominent, as he told Eurohoops:
I agree with we should not change the essence of European basketball. We should not. Even if the NBA comes around, they understand that, they are smart enough to understand the essence of European basketball. It’s awesome. I think we should not change that But something that I think is something to open our minds a little bit, is how to sell the European basketball all over the world.
The strategic part, the toughness, how hard it is. Like, the physicality of the game. People have no clue how much more physical the European basketball is, compared to the NBA. In the NBA, if you touch a guy, it’s a foul. Here to get a foul, man, you got to beg the referee to get a foul.
An argument that won’t please American fans, of course, but one that’s becoming increasingly difficult to dispute. In an NBA where the emphasis is on forwards, the slightest contact in the paint, for example, is likely to result in free throws. Some, like Jalen Brunson and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, are exploiting this flaw to the fullest, which bothers many fans.
