The Dallas Mavericks are close to finalizing an agreement to bring in Michigan head coach Dusty May as their next head coach, according to reports published Monday by ESPN and The Athletic.
May, 49, wrapped up a remarkable second season with the Wolverines in 2025-26, steering the program to a 37-3 record and an NCAA Tournament championship — a stunning turnaround for a program that had struggled before his arrival.
He steps into the role left vacant by Jason Kidd, who parted ways with Dallas on May 19 following five seasons as head coach. The Mavericks finished last season with a 26-56 record, their worst performance since the 2017-18 campaign.
May has no prior NBA coaching experience but will take the reins of a Dallas squad that features Cooper Flagg, the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year.
By leaving Michigan, May walks away from a program he had built into a powerhouse. His 2026 recruiting class was ranked second in the country by 247Sports, featuring five-star point guard Brandon McCoy Jr. along with four four-star prospects — forwards Quinn Costello, Malachi Brown, and Lincoln Cosby, and guard Joseph Hartman. The Wolverines had also added three transfer players: center Moustapha Thiam from Cincinnati, forward Jalen Reed from LSU, and forward J.P. Estrella from Tennessee.
According to ESPN, May becomes the first college head coach to make the jump to an NBA job since former Michigan coach John Beilein took over the Cleveland Cavaliers back in 2019. The last coach to move directly from winning an NCAA title to an NBA head coaching position was Larry Brown of Kansas, who became head coach of the San Antonio Spurs in 1988.
One of May’s first tasks in Dallas will be the NBA draft, which gets underway Tuesday. The Mavericks hold the 9th and 30th picks in the first round.
May’s impact at Michigan was immediate. In two seasons, he went 64-13 with the Wolverines after inheriting a program that had gone just 8-24 the year before he arrived. Shortly after Michigan defeated UConn 69-63 in the national title game on April 6, May agreed to a contract extension with the university.
Prior to his time in Ann Arbor, May spent six seasons at Florida Atlantic from 2018 to 2024, compiling a 126-69 record and making national headlines with an unexpected run to the Final Four in 2023. He left Florida Atlantic to replace Juwan Howard at Michigan.
As for the man he’s replacing, Jason Kidd had a mixed tenure in Dallas. He led the team to 50 or more wins on two occasions and guided the Mavericks to a Western Conference title in 2023-24, though that run ended in a five-game NBA Finals loss to the Boston Celtics. He also endured three losing seasons during his time there.
Kidd, 53, finished his Dallas tenure with a 205-205 regular season record and a 22-18 playoff mark. His overall head coaching record stands at 388-395, with a 31-33 record in the postseason.
