Dusty May gets his guy as Mavericks make stunning Morez Johnson Jr. selection

The Dallas Mavericks made the first shocking pick of the 2026 NBA Draft by selecting Michigan's Morez Johnson Jr. with the No. 9 overall pick. Johnson Jr. has had an excellent pre-draft process, including a strong performance at the NBA Draft Combine, but no one expected him to be drafted this high. He was commonly predicted to be picked outside of the top 10, and even the lottery in some instances.

Picking Morez Johnson Jr. was a shocking move by Dallas

The first eight picks of the draft were fairly predictable, with Dallas making the first shocker of the night. Despite the initial shock that comes with passing on Brayden Burries, a prospect heavily linked to the Mavs, Johnson Jr. makes sense for a Mavs team that just hired Dusty May. He coached Johnson Jr. at Michigan last season, leading them to their second National Championship in school history, and he has the best intel of anyone on the 6-foot-9 big man.

This move comes less than six hours after May was officially named the new head coach of the Mavericks on Tuesday, and May is likely ecstatic about reuniting with his second leading scorer from last season.

While someone like Burries would've filled a more immediate need in the backcourt alongside Kyrie Irving, Johnson Jr. offers immense upside for Dallas. There are signs that he can develop into a floor spacer in the near future, and he could quickly become a huge steal if he improves at the same rate he did as a Wolverine.

Johnson Jr. averaged 13.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 0.7 steals per game while shooting 62.3 percent from the field under May last season, and Dallas drafting him with the first pick of the Masai Ujiri era makes perfect sense. Ujiri historically loves players with elite versatility and strong defense, and this is exactly what Johnson Jr. brings.

Why Johnson Jr. can thrive in Dallas under Dusty May

He moves great for his size, rebounds at an elite level, defends opposing teams' star players, and does all of the dirty work. Every team needs a player like this, and this is especially true for Dallas as they look to build around Cooper Flagg.

Johnson Jr. gives the Mavs' frontcourt some reliability after Dereck Lively II nearly missed the entire season with a foot injury, and Daniel Gafford played in less than 60 games for the second season in a row. He certainly gives the Mavs' big man rotation a new look, and May has already proven that he knows how to best utilize him on both ends of the floor.

May helped Michigan thrive by using a jumbo frontcourt of Johnson Jr. and Lendeborg, and now he can do the same thing with Flagg and Morez. This fit is eerily similar to what he had in Ann Arbor, and May got his guy during his first day on the job.

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