Tiago Splitter won the NBA championship in 2014 with the San Antonio Spurs. Before his NBA journey, Splitter collaborated with Dusko Ivanovic, who had a significant influence on his career path.
Tiago Splitter spent a remarkable 10 years as a member of Baskonia, from 2000 to 2010, where he had the opportunity to witness the work of the Montenegrin coach firsthand. Although Dusko Ivanovic claims that “fatigue doesn’t exist,” the celebrated Brazilian basketball player doesn’t entirely agree.
“I believe fatigue exists, but it’s not a matter of belief. You can always give a little more, that’s for sure. However, generations and players are not the same. You have to talk to them, treat them differently. Especially in the role of an assistant, you are much closer, especially in the NBA – there’s a special bond, the season is very long, it’s a relationship where there’s less training and more talking.
In the U23 selection, I didn’t push players to train all day long, and we only had seven days before important games. Dusko’s approach is a matter of mentality. When you have a whole season ahead of you, you want to instill in the players and the team the mentality to train hard and know their own limits. It’s completely different from my previous coaching experience.”