The Dallas Mavericks are hiring Michigan coach Dusty May to replace Jason Kidd less than three months after May guided the Wolverines to the 2026 national title, CBS Sports' Gary Parrish confirmed. May, 49, will be tasked with guiding the on-court for a product for a franchise that is reorienting around 2026 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg.
The Mavericks fired Kidd in May after five seasons after he guided the team to a 26-56 mark in the franchise's first full season following its trading of star Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
May's late-June departure will bring significant ramifications in college basketball. Though the Wolverines are losing several key contributors from their title-winning team, Michigan is welcoming the nation's No. 4 recruiting class and No. 12 transfer class.
Those players and everyone else on Michigan's roster will have 15 days to enter the transfer portal once Michigan's new coach is hired.
May joins rare club: Won NCAA title, then became NBA HC the next season
| Larry Brown | Dusty May | |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1988 | 2026 |
| School | Kansas | Michigan |
| School next season | Missed NCAAT | ? |
| NBA team next season | Spurs | Mavericks |
| NBA record next season | 21-61 | ? |
| 🧠 Larry Brown is the only head coach to win both a national title and an NBA title, doing so with the 2004 Pistons. | ||
May is the first college head coach to be hired as an NBA head coach since John Beilein's ill-fated jump from Michigan to the Cavaliers in 2019. Others who have made the college-to-NBA head coaching transition over the past 15 years include Fred Hoiberg, Billy Donovan and Brad Stevens. None are still NBA head coaches.
In May, the Mavericks are getting a coach who has ascended rapidly over the past four years. After guiding a forlorn FAU program to consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in 2023 and 2024, May replaced Juwan Howard at Michigan for the 2024-25 college basketball season.
He immediately turned around a program that went 8-24 the season before his arrival by employing a unique, multi-big system. Towering front courts became a hallmark of May's teams during his two-year run with the Wolverines.
The Mavericks own two first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft, which begins Tuesday, including the No. 9 overall pick. Former Michigan center Aday Mara is among the players expected to go in the back half of the lottery, and he could be in play for the Mavericks.
