Michigan State’s biggest rival just suffered the biggest gut-punch of any team in college basketball this offseason so far.
Michigan is without a head coach for the time being, according to reports.
Every major NBA insider has now reported this as fact, but Michigan head coach Dusty May is reportedly leaving the Wolverines for the Dallas Mavericks job.
BREAKING: University of Michigan coach Dusty May has agreed to become the new head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell me, @AdamSchefter, @PeteThamel. Major college-to-pro jump for the 2026 NCAA championship coach and swing for the Mavericks and Masai Ujiri. pic.twitter.com/rwlwhRtNfo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2026
This news comes as a huge shock because it‘s happening the day before the 2026 NBA Draft and 2.5 months after the college basketball season concluded. This leaves Michigan in a really bad spot just months before the 2026-27 season is supposed to start and in the middle of offseason recruiting for the 2027 class. The Wolverines will now have to scramble to find his replacement.
My guess is that Mike Boynton Jr. will take over as the interim until the Wolverines can find Dusty’s full-time replacement, or maybe they run with the Michigan assistant for the 2026-27 season until they can find a coach from a bigger pool next offseason.
This puts the reigning national champs in a really bad spot.
I can say with certainty that Michigan fans did not expect Dusty to bolt for the NBA after winning the national title this season, especially since he’d been shutting down rumors with an alleged extension that apparently never happened. He was also saying that he’s committed to Michigan right now — but we all know what the “right now” truly meant.
The 2026-27 rivalry games are going to be crazy interesting.
This is not the job that people expected Dusty May to take
When rumors were circulating about Dusty potentially looking at open NBA jobs, the Dallas Mavericks position was not on the radar. The organizations that many expected to tempt Dusty were the Chicago Bulls, Orlando Magic, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
The Mavericks were not even on the radar.
This is a decent spot for Dusty May with a young roster, led by Cooper Flagg, and a fanbase that desperately wants to get back to the top of the NBA like their Texan counterparts, the San Antonio Spurs.
Dusty is a good hire to turn things around, but going from college to the NBA doesn’t always work out for elite NCAA coaches — just ask Billy Donovan.
Michigan will now have a mad scramble to fill that head coaching position. This isn’t something anyone was expected on NBA Draft eve.
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