Dusty May happy to have Michigan team together one last time for parade
Michigan coach Dusty May speaks ahead of the team’s championship parade in Ann Arbor on Saturday, April 11, 2026
Former Michigan men’s basketball coach Dusty May is leaving for the NBA after leading the Wolverines to a national championship.
May, who just concluded his second season with the program, is finalizing a deal with the Dallas Mavericks. The news comes a day before the first round of the NBA Draft on June 23.
May will lead the Mavericks into a new era, led by former No. 1 overall pick and rookie of the year Cooper Flagg. May replaces Jason Kidd as coach, and Dallas also recently hired former Raptors executive Masai Ujiri as the team’s president.
It’s a tough blow for Michigan, which was starting to cement its place as one of the top programs in college basketball. Now, the Wolverines could be headed for another transitional period, where they’ll hope to keep their roster together ahead of the 2026-27 season with players allowed to enter the transfer portal following the coaching change.
Why did May decide to leave Michigan, though? Here’s what we know:
Why is Dusty May leaving Michigan for Dallas Mavericks?
It’s unclear what changed between Michigan’s national championship parade celebration in April and now, given athletic director Warde Manuel announced he and May had agreed on a new contract to keep May with the Wolverines for “many years to come.”
While Michigan was positioned to compete for another national championship in 2026-27, the opportunity with the Mavericks was likely too much to pass up for May, who was always rumored to have NBA interest.
May told USA TODAY Sports on May 18 his contract hadn’t yet been signed, as the two sides were still discussing “minor details.” He did, however, note he was committed to staying with the program.
The Mavericks already have Flagg, one of the best young players in the NBA, and are led by Ujiri, who has already shown capable of building an NBA championship contender with the Raptors. May is the first college head coach since 2019 to leave for an NBA head coaching job, joining former Michigan coach John Beilein, who went to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
May’s tactical prowess also fits the NBA style. His calm nature as a coach does, too, along with his rapid rise as one of the top coaches in college basketball.
The 49-year-old coach grinded his way to the top, starting as a student manager at Indiana without any college playing experience. He landed his first head coaching job in 2018 at Florida Atlantic, eventually leading the Owls to the Final Four in 2023 before taking the Michigan job.
At Michigan, he had a wildly impressive 64-13 record.
