Winning a national championship in April should buy any coach time to celebrate. Instead, Dusty May is already trading Ann Arbor for the bright lights of the NBA. The 49-year-old has agreed to become Dallas’s new head coach. The move comes just months after he led Michigan to the 2026 national title.
New Mavericks president Masai Ujiri made the call. He let go of Jason Kidd after a brutal 26-56 season. Then he reached into the college ranks for a fresh voice. May becomes the first college coach to make the jump since John Beilein in 2019.
Why the Dusty May Mavericks Gamble Carries Risk
History, however, is not kind to this move. Beilein also left Michigan as an offensive genius. Yet he crashed in Cleveland with a 14-40 record before quitting mid-season. He struggled badly to connect with a young roster, the very job he was hired to do. Meanwhile, others have stumbled too.
Rick Pitino flopped in Boston. Billy Donovan reached the playoffs but never broke through. Fred Hoiberg and Tim Floyd both flamed out in Chicago. In fact, only Larry Brown has ever won both an NCAA and an NBA title, and those wins came 16 years apart.
Brad Stevens stands as the rare bright spot, building Boston into a contender after arriving from Butler. Still, even he never reached the Finals as a coach.
Cooper Flagg and the Road Ahead
So why take the risk? The answer wears No. 1 in Dallas. May will inherit Cooper Flagg, the reigning Rookie of the Year, who averaged 21 points per game last season.
Furthermore, May owns a reputation as a sharp tactician. He thrives on pace, spacing and ball movement, and he turned Michigan into the nation’s top defense.
Nevertheless, the pressure is immediate. Dallas wants Flagg to become a superstar fast. Fans also want a clean break from the painful Luka Dončić trade saga. If May succeeds, he will join very rare company indeed.
