Two months after winning the 2026 national championship, the Michigan men’s basketball team appears to be set to endure a major blow, and lose head coach Dusty May to the NBA. As first reported by ESPN and confirmed by 247Sports, May is finalizing a deal to take the Dallas Mavericks head-coaching job.
May, whose name had been floated for NBA head-coaching vacancies since leading the Wolverines to the national title in April, went 64-13 in two seasons leading Michigan. Taking over a program that went 8-24 in the 2023-24 season, May brought in an influx of transfers, and led Michigan to a 27-10 record in 2024-25, including a Big Ten Tournament title and Sweet Sixteen appearance.
Then, in 2025-26, Michigan reeled in the nation’s No. 2 transfer portal recruiting class, and it paid immense dividends. Michigan went 37-3 over the course of the season, winning the Big Ten regular-season title by four games and with a record 19 conference wins. The Wolverines then went 6-0 in the NCAA Tournament, and captured their second-ever national title.
May previously went 125-69 as head coach of Florida Atlantic, including the program’s first-ever Final Four appearance in 2023. At 49, he was viewed as one of the best coaches in college basketball, touted for his fast-paced offenses, scouting eye and ability to adjust game plans to beat a variety of teams.
At Dallas, May will take over a team led by 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg, and that includes veteran stars such as Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson and Khris Middleton. Last season, the Mavericks went 26-56, and they are slated to pick No. 9 in this year’s NBA Draft, which takes place June 23.
For Michigan fans, it is the latest in a string of head-coaching blows after national title-game appearances. Over the last decade, Michigan has lost John Beilein (Cleveland Cavaliers, 2019), Erik Bakich (Clemson, 2022), Jim Harbaugh (Los Angeles Chargers, 2023) and now May after successful tenures with the maize and blue, all of which included at least one run to the national title game.
In terms of replacements, Mike Boynton Jr. would likely be at the top of the list, particularly given the timing of May’s departure coming after the transfer portal window and typical head-coaching hiring cycle ended. Boynton was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for the Wolverines the past two seasons, and has previous experience as a head coach at Oklahoma State, where he want 119-109 over seven seasons.
May previously cited him as a major influence on Michigan’s national title run, which was sparked in part due to the No. 1 defense in the country, according to KenPom’s defensive ratings.
“He’s an elite basketball coach,” May said the day before the national title game. “He did a really good job at Oklahoma State, especially considering the circumstances, and I’m not going to go on that soapbox. But he’s just as good as I am. I’m the head coach at Michigan. He’s just as good as I am. He’s just as prepared. He’s been invaluable for me. He thinks — the best part about him is he covers my blind spots before they’re blind. There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t call me and want to take something off of my plate that I haven’t thought of, and that’s what he is. He’s a forward thinker. He’s got a great feel for people.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone that didn’t say positive things about him, especially in this climate when we love to say negative things about anyone and everyone. He’s just a professional. I hope he does. But I hope we can keep him for a little bit longer because I know as long as he’s here, we’ll be better than we would otherwise.”
This story may be updated.
