Michigan is officially represented in the 2026 NBA Draft as the Dallas Mavericks take Morez Johnson Jr. with the ninth overall pick.
In a somewhat surprising move, the Dallas Mavericks have selected Morez Johnson Jr. with the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Johnson Jr. is a fine player, and shouldn't be viewed as a reach per se, but most thought that he'd be picked after Michigan teammates Aday Mara and Yaxel Lendeborg. With Johnson going in the top ten, there's a chance that all three Wolverines will go in the top half of the draft.
Another angle that makes this selection interesting, is of course Dallas' new head coach — former Michigan head man Dusty May. The Mavericks just hired May within the last 48 hours and now he and Johnson are reunited in Dallas.
Earlier this year, as Johnson figured out his future in regards to the NBA, May heaped praise onto his versatile forward during an appearance on Kevin O’Connor’s podcast.
“There were times this year when I told him he was a great defender for us, switching one through five,” May said. “He guarded point guards, he guarded centers. But early in the year, he was so effective on guards when they’d play one-on-one. He would use his length and poke the ball away from them and get steals and dunks.
And late in the year, when he was playing the elite guards. He would try that, and it would be a foul or a sld. And so, he even made adjustments then and kind of recognized who he was guarding and just be more solid and forcing a difficult shot. And just realizing that if they’re gonna have to hit shots like that over 85 possessions, we’re gonna be in good shape.
“But his ability to guard one-on-one, with his size and strength on the perimeter, was probably the most pleasant surprise and allowed us to switch one through five when a guy was out of the game. … He just had good awareness of what was going on around him and synergy with his teammates.”
Johnson has a chance to be really good in the NBA, especially under May's tutelage given their familiarity with each other. The 6-9 forward projects as a modern energy big who can carve out a role through rebounding, defense, and hustle, but his ability to shoot the ball from the outside, which is much improved, and his athleticism, which allows him to play above the rim, makes him a pretty complete player already. He's also got an NBA-ready body at 250 pounds.
His future in the NBA will likely depend on how much he can continue to expand his offensive skill set and whether he can become at least a respectable mid-range or three-point shooter. He showed the ability to step out and knock down threes in college, but it's a different animal in the NBA. Johnson will need more range, a quicker release and more consistency in order to be serviceable as an outside shooter in the league.
Few big men play harder possession-to-possession than Johnson. He runs the floor, crashes the boards, dives for loose balls, and consistently brings energy. Those traits clearly made an impact on May in one year at Michigan and now the duo will grow together as newcomers for the Mavs.
