Tuesday night in Brooklyn wasn’t just another draft for Michigan basketball. It was the kind of night that rewrites program history.
The Wolverines had three former players go in the first round of the 2026 NBA Draft, all inside the top 12 picks. That had never happened before at Michigan. Not once. And then it happened three times in a single evening.
ESPN Insights put it bluntly on X: “What a night for the champs! Before this year, Michigan had never had more than one lottery pick in a draft. Tonight the Wolverines had THREE.”
Morez Johnson Goes 9th to Dallas
The run started with forward Morez Johnson, who went No. 9 to the Dallas Mavericks — the same franchise that just hired former Michigan coach Dusty May as its new head coach. Johnson started his college career at Illinois, transferred to Michigan for one season, and averaged 13.1 points as the team’s second-leading scorer. He was a big part of the Wolverines’ NCAA Tournament championship run, and now he’s reuniting with his old coach in the pros.
Yaxel Lendeborg to Golden State at No. 11
Golden State took Yaxel Lendeborg three picks later at No. 11. He was the heart of that Michigan title team — the leader on the floor, the guy who paced the Wolverines with 15.1 points per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field. The Warriors front office clearly saw a guy who can step in and contribute right away in their system.
Aday Mara Lands With Oklahoma City at 12
Right after that, Aday Mara heard his name called at No. 12 by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Mara spent his first two college seasons at UCLA before transferring to Michigan. In his one year as a Wolverine, he led the Big Ten with 1.7 blocks per game. The Thunder just added more frontcourt length to a roster that’s already loaded with young talent.
The timing is interesting too. May left Ann Arbor for the Mavericks job recently, and now three of his former players are headed to the league. Whether that connection helped Johnson land in Dallas or not, it’s hard to ignore the symmetry.
Michigan basketball has had NBA talent before. But three lottery picks in one night is a different level. It’s the kind of draft that changes how recruits think about a program — and how the rest of the conference looks at what’s being built in Ann Arbor.
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