Dallas Mavericks’ Morez Johnson Jr. shoots against the Golden State Warriors during the second half of an NBA Summer League basketball game Thursday, July 9, 2026, in Las Vegas.
John Locher/Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Morez Johnson Jr.’s summer league debut featured everything a team would want from a player whose primary strengths lie on the defensive end, and then some.
Not only did the No. 9 overall pick — a surprise selection by the Dallas Mavericks — affect the game in several ways with his tenacious defense, but Johnson led all scorers in Thursday’s 101-90 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Time and time again, Johnson muscled his way inside the paint and found an advantage over his defender with a wide range of floaters, layups and dunks. He even knocked down a 3-pointer en route to a game-high 27 points, eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks. The 6-11 big man started at center and figuratively was the center of everything the Summer Mavs did on both ends of the floor.
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Johnson said he was empowered by the Mavericks’ coaching staff to be assertive, but selective in his offensive decision-making.
“The biggest thing I got from them is letting it come to me. Don’t be out there hunting anything,” Johnson said. “The more I let things come to me, it’ll work out better for me.”
High praise from team
When Warriors defenders doubled his teammates, Johnson inserted himself in the right positions to score inside the paint. His first basket of the game was a floater from the top of the restricted area. He excelled as a rim-roller, which will help next season when he’s playing next to creators such as Kyrie Irving and Cooper Flagg.
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The Mavericks won’t need Johnson to lead the team in scoring or knock down multiple 3-pointers per game, but his constant activity will serve a team predicated on size and length well. He’s been described by team officials as a player who doesn’t need to be motivated to work hard and can find success without needing the ball.
Johnson may not need the ball to be effective, but he can find it if he needs to by crashing the boards. He pulled down seven defensive rebounds, and his lone offensive board came off a short miss at the free-throw line by Ryan Nembhard. He followed that up with a dribble and spin, creating space for an open layup.
“I love him already,” said Nembhard, who had 15 points and 11 assists. “He plays so hard on both ends and he’s going to impact the game someway, somehow, whether his shot’s falling or not.”
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Johnson attempted four 3-pointers Thursday and managed to knock down just one, an area could come in time with experience. He also had seven fouls, which was three shy from the summer league limit before disqualification.
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Mavericks summer league coach Joe Boylan lauded Johnson for his performance and credited him for playing through the intense physicality posed by the Warriors.
“Morez just brings such a consistency to the team,” Boylan said. “There’s just that high floor when he’s out there where you just have that sense of relief that defensively, he’s going to be challenging shots. He’s going to be in the paint. He’s going to be rebounding. There were a lot of instances where if he wasn’t being held down by two guys, he would have had a lot more rebounds in that game.”
Battle over Michigan
Johnson was one of the best Mavericks on the floor, but was he the best Michigan man on the floor?
His former college teammate, Yaxel Lendeborg, paced the Warriors with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Johnson and Lendeborg starred alongside Oklahoma City Thunder center Aday Mara last season under the leadership of Mavericks coach Dusty May and helped the Wolverines win their first national championship in 37 years.
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Lendeborg was selected with the 11th overall pick by Golden State, and Oklahoma City selected Mara one pick later at No. 12, netting May three lottery picks in this year’s draft.
Related: NBA draft grades: Morez Johnson Jr. wasn’t the sexiest pick, but checks boxes for Mavs
After the game, Lendeborg told reporters that he tried to “big boy” his old teammate, but conceded that it “never worked.”
“I was expecting him to come at me, of course,” Johnson said. “We compete all the time. Competing at practice, competing off the court.”
Johnson was nearly finished with his postgame media responsibilities when Lendeborg inserted himself between the small group of reporters with his cell phone pointed toward Johnson.
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“Rez! Rez, I have a question,” Lendeborg said. “How does it feel to play against Yaxel Lendeborg? I know you guys were teammates last year. How does it feel to finally get on the court with him.”
“Who is that?” Johnson sarcastically responded.
Lendeborg reiterated his full name.
“It was great,” Johnson said. “I thought we competed. Came up short. Losing’s not normally my thing, but it is what it is. They gotta come to Dallas.”
The next time Johnson competes against Lendeborg will be on a grander scale during the regular season, and it sounds like he’s looking forward to hosting his former teammate at American Airlines Center.
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The number of games the Mavericks will allow Johnson to play in Las Veags is uncertain, but first-round picks are usually shut down after a handful of games to prevent the risk of injury.
Dallas will compete against the Los Angeles Lakers on primetime Saturday, which could mark his final opportunity of the summer to showcase his talents until it’s time to prepare for his rookie season.