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Jeff Borzello
Multiple Authors
Less than six hours after the Dallas Mavericks officially announced Dusty May as their new head coach Tuesday, they drafted one of May’s former players with their first pick of the NBA draft.
The Mavericks picked Michigan forward Morez Johnson Jr. with the No. 9 pick, with Johnson reuniting with May and somewhat surprisingly becoming the first of three Wolverines players off the board in the lottery. Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara were selected at No. 11 and No. 12, respectively.
Johnson, a 6-foot-9 forward, started 40 games and helped lead Michigan to the national championship last season. He averaged 13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds as a sophomore after transferring from Illinois while also establishing himself as one of the linchpins of Michigan’s dominant defense.
Johnson was considered a late first-round pick throughout much of the predraft process but boosted his stock dramatically over the past couple of weeks.
Asked how it felt to be reunited with May, Johnson said he was surprised and thrilled.
“I was insanely shocked when I saw Dusty was going to be coach of the Mavs. I did not see it coming at all,” he said. “And now for him to be my coach again, I’m excited. It’s insane. We just won a national championship together. I can’t wait to get there and go to work with him again and ultimately win again.”
Johnson said he was also looking forward to team with last season’s Rookie of the Year, Cooper Flagg.
“I think it can get dangerous, us two on the court at the same time,” Johnson said. “I’ve been playing against Coop for a very long time. I’m very excited and happy that I’m on the same side as him.”
Two picks after Johnson was drafted, Lendeborg came off the board to the Golden State Warriors with the No. 11 pick.
Lendeborg, a versatile 6-foot-9 forward, was a consensus All-American and won Big Ten Player of the Year honors after averaging 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists. The New Jersey native began his career at Arizona Western at the junior college level before spending two seasons at UAB and ending his career at Michigan.
Lendeborg primarily played the center position at UAB, but after he withdrew from the 2025 NBA draft at the early-entry deadline, May brought him in to play small forward and helped him develop into a lottery pick in the process.
“Every emotion possible,” Lendeborg said on the ESPN broadcast. “I don’t deserve to be here right now. Didn’t have a traditional path. I can’t believe it.”
Lendeborg, whose mother was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, credited her with his success.
“That kid got here because of her,” Lendeborg told ESPN while sitting next to his mother. “She pushed a dream. Forced me to go out there and step into the world and become a man. I had no choice but to go out there and do the best I could.”
Right after Lendeborg’s selection, the Oklahoma City Thunder picked Mara at No. 12. The 7-foot-3 Spain native was arguably the most skilled center in the draft class, as well as one of the elite defensive players in college basketball last season.
Mara spent the first two seasons of his college career at UCLA before transferring to Michigan and breaking out as a junior. He averaged 12.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks, earning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors.
“Everything that I’ve done during my life since I was a kid, going to college, playing pro in Spain, all these things that really helped me to get where I’m at,” Mara said on the ESPN broadcast. “I’m really happy that I did it.”
Michigan became the third reigning champion to have three lottery picks since the lottery began in 1985, according to ESPN Research.
The Mavericks closed out the first round by taking Arizona forward Koa Peat with the 30th pick.
