Dusty May is used to winning, but he can’t have it all.
The new Dallas Mavericks head coach seemingly lost it for a moment during the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., when he saw the Oklahoma City Thunder swoop in and select his former Michigan Wolverines player, Aday Mara, with the No. 12 overall pick.
The broadcast showed May with his teeth clenched while furiously clapping in reaction to the Thunder’s move to draft the big man.
Here is the video of that moment.
When you realize you just helped the Thunder win the Western Conference Finals pic.twitter.com/2mXme5cGkr
— The Dan Le Batard Show (@LeBatardShow) June 24, 2026
At that point, the Mavericks had already made their pick, with Dallas going with another former Wolverines star in Morez Johnson Jr. at No. 9. Two picks later, May saw a second Wolverine get taken, with the Golden State Warriors drafting Yaxel Lendeborg at No. 11.
May’s strong reaction may be because he did not want Mara ending up with the Thunder, given how loaded Oklahoma City already is. But the Thunder seemingly wanted a counterpunch ready should they cross paths with the San Antonio Spurs again in the playoffs, especially after Victor Wembanyama showed Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and company the door in the Western Conference Finals.
Mara was a major reason for May’s success at Michigan, as the center averaged 12.1 points per game and led the Big Ten with 2.6 blocks across 40 games during the 2025-26 season, helping the Wolverines capture the national title.
