DALLAS — Less than three months after Dusty May finished a 37-3 season at Michigan with a national championship, the Dallas Mavericks made him their head coach.
May has never coached in the NBA. Mike Schmitz points instead to the different jobs May held before reaching Dallas, from working in video to becoming an assistant coach, head coach, and eventually a national champion.
The Mavericks hired May on June 22, a day before the NBA draft. He replaced Jason Kidd, who parted ways with Dallas on May 19 after five seasons. The Mavericks went 26-56 last season and finished 12th in the Western Conference.
Schmitz, hired as Mavericks general manager May 8, made his comments Friday on “G-Bag Nation” on 105.3 The Fan.
Mike Schmitz Says Dusty May’s Experience Prepared Him
Six seasons as a college head coach at Florida Atlantic came before May’s two years at Michigan. Schmitz sees more than those eight seasons when he looks at May’s background.
“Coach Dusty, first-time NBA head coach, but he’s been around the game for a long, long time, and has expertise in various roles — whether that was as a video guy coming up, whether that was as an assistant coach, a head coach, a national champion,” Schmitz said. “So I think his experience, although it may not be as an NBA head coach, has really prepared him for this.”
“My job is to best support him and be there to help with any of the challenges that arise, and continue to collaborate with him, with obviously Masai leading the ship here,” Schmitz continued. “So we’ve got a great chemistry, and excited to continue building on it.”
Dallas put Masai Ujiri in charge of basketball operations on May 4, naming him president and alternate governor. Four days later, Schmitz came over from the Portland Trail Blazers after four seasons as an assistant general manager.
Michigan won a program-record 37 games last season. In Big Ten play, the Wolverines finished 19-1. Their season ended April 6 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis with a 69-63 win over UConn for the national championship.
May went 64-13 across his two seasons in Ann Arbor. During last season’s NCAA Tournament, Michigan became the first team to score at least 90 points in five consecutive games.
Before Ann Arbor, May coached six seasons at Florida Atlantic. His 2022-23 team finished 35-4 and reached the Final Four.
The move to Dallas made May the first college head coach to go directly into an NBA head-coaching job since John Beilein left Michigan for the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2019. Larry Brown made the jump immediately after a national championship in 1988, leaving Kansas for the NBA.
Dusty May Wants Dallas Mavericks To Be More Entertaining
Dallas already played fast last season. The Mavericks averaged 102.62 possessions per 48 minutes, fourth in the NBA, and scored 114.1 points per game.
The personnel has changed since then. In another answer, Schmitz said Dallas has gotten bigger, longer, more athletic, and more skilled, with additional space for its primary ball handlers and creators.
May has talked about wanting a more entertaining style. Schmitz connected that idea to Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, and the rest of the group.
“You’ve heard Coach talk about wanting to be more entertaining and to play a brand of basketball that people want to watch,” Schmitz explained. “I think we’ve done that with Cooper and with Kyrie and with the rest of the group.”
“So, yeah, 21 national TV games, we’ll take it,” Schmitz continued. “Like I said, feel really good about where we’re at.”
Flagg enters his second season after winning Rookie of the Year. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists in 70 starts.
Irving has yet to play alongside him. A torn ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025, kept him out for all of last season.
Morez Johnson Jr. Reunites With Dusty May
Dallas used the No. 9 pick on a player May had coached at Michigan. Morez Johnson Jr. spent last season under May and averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists.
Johnson earned second-team All-Big Ten and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors.
Dallas used another first-round move to get Sergio de Larrea, climbing from No. 30 to No. 25 for his draft rights.
More additions followed in July. The Mavericks acquired Zaccharie Risacher, then added Santi Aldama, Marcus Sasser, and the draft rights to Tarik Biberović in separate trades.
Assistant coach Josh Broghamer left Dallas for the Orlando Magic on Aug. 7. He had spent three seasons on Kidd’s staff, primarily working in player development.
May coaches his first regular-season game against the Houston Rockets on Oct. 21. Tip-off in Houston is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT.
