DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks wasted no time introducing their new head coach, formally announcing Dusty May in the role just hours before the team stepped to the podium at the NBA draft Tuesday night with the ninth overall pick.
May is transitioning from college basketball to the professional level fewer than three months after guiding Michigan to its first NCAA national title since 1989. In two seasons with the Wolverines, he compiled a 64-13 record, capping it with a dominant 34-3 campaign that concluded in a 69-63 championship game win over UConn.
The announcement made it official that May would replace Jason Kidd on the Dallas bench — and it came on a significant night for the franchise, as the team also looked to select a young talent to help build alongside 2025 No. 1 overall pick and reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg, who will turn 20 this December.
In addition to the ninth pick, Dallas also holds the 30th selection at the end of the first round and the 48th pick in the second round, which is scheduled for Wednesday.
New president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri — who let Kidd go roughly two weeks after being brought on board himself — spoke highly of the hire. “Dusty has won at every stage of his career because of his ability to build,” Ujiri said. “He develops players, creates accountability and brings people together around a shared standard of excellence. His work ethic is extraordinary, and his teams consistently reflect his values.”
May’s championship run at Michigan came three years after he guided Florida Atlantic to its only Final Four appearance. When he took over the Wolverines, he inherited a program that had gone just 8-24 under the previous coach — the lowest win total for the school since a 7-20 season in 1981-82. In his first year, he led Michigan to a Big Ten Tournament title.
The 49-year-old coach put together a 124-26 record over his last four college seasons, an .827 winning percentage that ranked third among all major college men’s basketball coaches over that stretch, trailing only Houston’s Kelvin Sampson (.861) and Duke’s Jon Scheyer (.832). His full college coaching record stands at 190-82.
May spent 21 years working in the college game. The Indiana native got his start as a student manager for the Hoosiers under coach Bob Knight from 1996 to 2000, then worked as an assistant at several programs including Florida, UAB, and Murray State before becoming a head coach at Florida Atlantic in 2018-19.
May expressed enthusiasm about joining the organization. “This is one of the most respected franchises in professional sports, with passionate fans, a talented roster, and a clear commitment to building a championship organization,” he said.
The hiring closes a difficult chapter for Dallas that began with the trade of Luka Doncic. General manager Nico Harrison, who orchestrated the deal that brought the frequently injured Anthony Davis over from the Los Angeles Lakers, was let go in November after the team got off to a slow start in the 2025-26 season. Dallas missed the playoffs for the second year in a row, following a run that had taken them all the way to the NBA Finals before losing to Boston in five games.
That deep playoff run in 2024 featured both Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and Doncic had also carried the team to the Western Conference finals two years prior with a largely different supporting cast around him.
Irving is still on the roster, though questions about his future persist after he missed the entire last season due to a torn ACL in his left knee, an injury he suffered in March — just one month after the Doncic trade went through.
Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont also weighed in on the decision. “Dusty represents the type of leader we want guiding this franchise,” Dumont said. “He has demonstrated throughout his career that success is built through preparation, character, accountability, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.”
