The Dallas Mavericks hired a new coach for their 2025-2026 NBA campaign, picking up a 16-year NBA veteran in free agency.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavericks added Garrett Temple, who has played 16 seasons in the NBA, to the coaching staff for the 2025-2026 NBA season.
Temple has been a veteran presence at the point guard spot for multiple teams over the past few years.
Temple played for 12 NBA franchises over his 16-year career, namely the Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Milwaukee Bucks, Charlotte Hornets, Washington Wizards, Memphis Grizzlies, LA Clippers, Brooklyn Nets, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Pelicans, and Toronto Raptors.
Temple, a respected figure across the league and a long-time NBPA vice president, saw limited minutes during his final seasons in Toronto, averaging 0.8 points, 0.4 rebounds, and 0.4 assists per game.
Garrett Temple Joins Dusty May In Dallas
GettyGarrett Temple #17 of the Chicago Bulls brings the ball up the court against the Memphis Grizzlies at the United Center on April 16, 2021.
The 40-year-old Garrett will join newly-hired head coach Dusty May in Dallas as they hope to lead the Mavericks back to the promised land with a new set of players bannered by Cooper Flagg, the 2025-2026 NBA Rookie of the year.
May has brought in former New Orleans Pelicans head coach Willie Green as his lead assistant coach. The staff also features former Memphis Grizzlies assistant Joe Boylan, and player development coach Phil Handy.
May led Michigan to two national championships before taking the role in Dallas.
The massive coaching overhaul comes over a season after the Mavericks pulled off one of the most controversial and shocking trades in NBA history by shipping former franchise player Luka Doncic to the LA Lakers for a package headlined by Anthony Davis, who is now with the Washington Wizards.
Dallas finished in the 12th seed in the Western Conference with a 26-56 record.
Dusty May Plans To Go Against The Best In The NBA
GettyMichigan head coach and now Dallas Mavericks head coach Dusty May
Assembling a seasoned coaching staff to mentor a relatively young core in Dallas, head coach Dusty May plans to face the big contending teams in the league in his first season with the Mavericks.
“I did start preparing for this years ago, going to watch and trying to figure out if I could do this well,” May said in his introductory press conference via ESPN. “But as far as dreaming about coaching in the NBA, I never dreamed of coaching in the NBA, of coaching college, of coaching anywhere other than just being a coach in high school in my state. So as far a dream, no, this wasn’t a dream. But now, I’ve been preparing for this, to go against the best, for a long time.”
May took the job after the Mavericks fired Jason Kidd, who once mentored the team to the 2024 NBA Finals with Luka Doncic leading the way.
May’s hiring also came following the Mavericks’ addition of Masai Ujiri, who many believed to be the architect of the Toronto Raptors’ 2019 NBA championship run, in place of Nico Harrison, who pulled the trigger on the Doncic trade.
It remains to be seen whether May and his coaching staff, full of recognizable names, could steer the young Mavericks to a meaningful run in the stacked Western Conference.
16-Year NBA Veteran Set To Coach Cooper Flagg In Dallas Mavericks