MIAMI (United States) - In the long and successful career that Tiago Splitter had as a basketball player, one team was always close to his heart.

It was Brazil.

Splitter was a champion in both Europe, with Spanish giants Baskonia, and in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs, yet it was Brazil that helped, more than any other team, define who he was as a person, and as a player.

Splitter (No. 15) won a second FIBA AmeriCup crown in 2009, in Puerto Rico

Speaking  during Tuesday's draw for FIBA AmeriCup 2022, which will be staged in Brazil from September 2 to September 11, Splitter reflected on his time with the national team and revealed its overall importance to the sport in his country.

"We always have this passion for the national team, to put that yellow jersey on," he said. "When you start playing basketball, the national team becomes your priority, becomes your dream, becomes your goal.

"And once you start going there and every summer you go to the national team, those teammates become friends and those friends become friends forever. So my best friends are still the guys that I played with in the national team, for 13, 14 years. So the national team means a lot to me."

“HAVING YOUR NATIONAL TEAM PLAYING AT HOME … THAT'S WHEN YOU BRING LITTLE KIDS TO BE FANS, THOSE LITTLE FANS BECOME PLAYERS AND THEN THEY BECOME PROS."

Splitter was an automatic selection for Brazil, appearing in four FIBA Basketball World Cups, the 2012 Olympics and four FIBA AmeriCups. He was a linchpin in all of those teams, including the Brazil sides that won the AmeriCup in 2005 in the Dominican Republic, and 2009 in Puerto Rico. If there is a void in his career, it's that he did not have the opportunity to play in an AmeriCup on home soil.

His last national team experience was the World Cup in Spain 2014, with injuries bringing an end to his career and preventing him from playing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics two years later.

Splitter helped Brazil reach London in 2012 - their first Olympics since the '96 Games 

He wants those players that compete for Brazil later this year to treasure the opportunity which, he says, is very important for the sport in the country.

"The fact that we are in Brazil and kids will be watching and they will see Brasilia on TV, in social media, that stuff is huge," he said. "I think my generation missed that a little bit. We never played any tournament in Brazil, so I think we lost an opportunity to create a big fan base. So now, it's going to be in Brazil and I hope that in the future we have more tournaments.

"It will be great for those cities. They are going to have amazing basketball for a certain period of time and they're going to be able to, especially the Brazilians, are going to root for our national team - that will be great - but also to watch good basketball.

"I think those cities will watch good basketball and will bring, definitely, the best out of the players. Every time you play in front of your crowd, I think the Brazilian players will have an extra push, to represent our country, and to do well in the tournament."

The fans that have watched national teams square off in past AmeriCups have always witnessed intense spectacles. The blood pressure goes up for the players, the coaches and the spectators.

"I think it's the passion, the way our basketball is played in the America," Splitter said. "There are moments when we almost fight with the other team. But it's nothing personal, it's just the way we treat basketball and the way we go to the court and represent our country."

Splitter, who is now a player development coach with the NBA's Brooklyn Nets, is curious to see how his national team reacts to the home crowd and whether or not it takes full advantage of the support.

In Tuesday's draw, Brazil, who are coached by Gustavo de Conti, ended up with Uruguay, Colombia and Canada.

Caboclo will be a must-see attraction for Brazilian fans at the AmeriCup

"I think we have a new team," he said. "It's going to be up to them to show who they are, how well prepared they are and who has a high ceiling. You have Yago (Santos), a super young guy coming through the national team. You can talk about (Bruno) Caboclo, a former NBA player who is playing in Brazil now who has huge potential to be even better.

"Then you have kids playing in Europe now, Vitor Benite. We'll see if (Marcelinho) Huertas will play and bring his leadership to the team. So there are a lot of things that will help, having a little bit of those veterans still in the team bringing experience to those news guys that are just coming up to the national team, trying to put their stamp on the national team."

 It truly will be a basketball festival in Brazil with games in Brasilia and Recife.

"It's been a while since we've had a competition in Brazil and it's going to be great, for the youth, the kids that are coming to watch the national team playing," Splitter said. "The media that is going to cover the tournament - it's always good. The more coverage that you have of the tournament, the better.

"I think lately, Brazil is surging with a lot of basketball in the media and that helps, with the NBA, the Euroleague - all of these leagues. But having your country, your national team, playing at home, that's different. And I hope that we can keep doing that for many years because that's when you bring little kids to be fans and then those little fans become players and then they become pros. It's no secret."

FIBA