Paris Basketball’s coach Tiago Splitter on T.J. Shorts : « At the same level as Tony Parker »

Par Joël Pütz | Journaliste sportif

An NBA champion with Tony Parker’s Spurs, Tiago Splitter is now the successful coach of Paris Basketball. Recently, the former center even compared his point guard, T.J. Shorts, to the French point guard.

For its first season in the Euroleague, Paris Basketball didn’t miss the opportunity to make a big impact. The players from the capital even came close to reaching the Final Four, ultimately losing to Fenerbahce in the quarterfinals. It’s still an incredible run for Tiago Splitter’s men.

Along the way, quite a few players have taken advantage of this experience to showcase their talent. We’re thinking, for example, of young Nadir Hifi, but also and especially of T.J. Shorts, the American who has been a star since his arrival in Paris in 2023. To the point where an NBA franchise is reportedly tempted to court him this summer, which suggests he’s unlikely to stay in France beyond the upcoming offseason.

Tiago Splitter’s huge compliment for TJ Shorts

Regardless of where he plays in 2025-26, Shorts has amply proven he has the talent to play among the best European teams and in the NBA. Splitter didn’t hesitate to compare him to several FIBA-certified point guards during an interview with Gigantes… including a name that is very familiar to the French public:

He’s a spectacular player. He’s small, yes, but also very explosive, very fast, and very smart. Very, very smart. I’ve played with great point guards like Huertas, Prigioni, Calderón, Tony Parker… And TJ, in his reading of the game, is at the same level.

The compliment is all the more enormous because Splitter knows exactly what he’s talking about, especially when it comes to the former French point guard.

Indeed, Splitter was his teammate in San Antonio and the two men were even champions together in 2014. The tactician does not hide the fact that his adventure across the Atlantic has strongly influenced his philosophy on the court, Paris Basketball being regularly compared to NBA franchises in its style of play:

I don’t know how European basketball will evolve, to be honest. I know that basketball is becoming more physical, faster, bigger, and more athletic. And that’s what I have on my team as well: players with a lot of speed who like to play fast, and that’s why we play fast. I have explosive players who play fast, who like to play fast break, who like to go to the paint and pass… you have to use that.