The Dallas Mavericks sent shock waves through both the NBA and college basketball Monday morning by hiring the University of Michigan’s Dusty May to be their next head coach. News of May’s hiring was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania.
May is just months removed from leading Michigan to the 2026 national championship in just his second season as the Wolverines’ head coach. In his two seasons in Ann Arbor, May went 64-13. Prior to coaching at Michigan, May had a successful run with Florida Atlantic, leading the school to the NCAA tournament in back-to-back years, including a 2023 Final Four appearance. He is the first college head coach to jump to a head job in the NBA since 2019 when another Michigan coach, John Beilein, joined the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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Now May heads to Dallas where he inherits a budding superstar in Cooper Flagg, the top overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, Flagg was named the league’s Rookie of the Year after averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals a game. Despite Flagg’s success, Dallas struggled, posting a record of 26 wins and 56 losses. When the season concluded, Dallas parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd, who coached the Mavs for five seasons and led them to an NBA Finals appearance in 2024.
Though May’s hiring seems likely to improve the Mavericks from a sub-30 win team, bettors are hesitant to consider the Flagg/May-led Mavs as true NBA contenders. Polymarket bettors are trading the Mavericks’ chances of a 2027 NBA title at only 1%. They are currently viewed as long shots, while the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs continue to set the pace for bettors, each holding a 21% chance of securing a title next season. The Celtics are third at 13%, and the New York Knicks, fresh off a championship, come in at fourth with 12% of bettors seeing a repeat for New York.
May won’t exactly ease into the job. Tuesday marks the start of the NBA’s two-day, two-round NBA Draft and Dallas holds both the ninth and 30th selections in round one.
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