“First and foremost, it was the leadership team and the alignment throughout the organization, everyone working together, and obviously you have a young superstar in Cooper Flagg that’s about all the right stuff, one of the best point guards in history of the game in Kyrie [Irving], and a supporting cast of really quality players and quality people, and can’t wait to get there and just be part of the group,” he explained.
He hasn’t even been formally introduced as the Mavs’ coach, but he’s already begun mapping out his plans for the roster and starting to learn how Dallas’ roster fits together.
“Last two days, I spent every waking minute watching live games, watching the edits on these players that I had someone make for me,” May said. “So I’m excited about the potential, Max [Christie], a great young player that has a wonderful personality, and he has an infectious energy to him. And most of the guys that I’ve spoken with, that’s the type of character they have, so I can see they’re easy for our fans to root for.”
One thing that’s clear about May: His rise in the coaching ranks has been incredibly fast.
He got his first head coaching gig at Florida Atlantic in 2018, where he guided the Owls to a Final Four run in 2023. Fast forward three seasons and May has now gone from a head coach in the American Athletic Conference to a head coach in the NBA.
That basketball journey started out under a coaching legend.
“I played one year Division II basketball, and decided the best way for me to be a coach was to go work for a legendary coach like Bob Knight, and that that experience led me into college coaching,” he said. “From there, I bounced around the country, learning at every step, and just trying to find different experiences to grow. And recently, we’ve had a lot of success, and it led to this, but I wouldn’t be here without all the mentors, and most importantly, all the great players that I’ve been around and able to coach.”
What message did May have for Mavs fans?
“I think they’re going to be excited to watch our team play,” he said. “We’re going to play an exciting brand of basketball, we’re going to be well connected and it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a great year.”