The Dallas Mavericks took Virginia Tech forward Tobi Lawal with the 48th overall pick Wednesday in the second round of the 2026 NBA draft.
Lawal, a senior, averaged 12.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks last season. He’s known for his freakish athleticism, with a 45-inch max vertical. He uses that natural ability not just for explosive dunks, but for crashing the glass for rebounds and emphatic blocks.
“Tobi is one of the most explosive athletes, if not the most explosive athlete in the draft and college basketball,” said Mavericks general manager Mike Schmitz. “His energy, his motor, his toughness. He defends multiple positions. He plays his hardest as any young prospect that you’ll see. Really excited just to bring that level of energy to our program.”
Lawal, the first No. 48 pick in franchise history, spoke to ESPN shortly after his name was called by NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum.
“Just being versatile, defensively,” Lawal said when asked how he plans to use his athleticism for the Mavericks. “Just trying to put on a show.”
The 23-year-old forward started his career at VCU and played sparingly as a freshman, but took a leap during his sophomore season to average 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. After transferring to Virginia Tech, Lawal took another step in his development and increased his production over his final two seasons.
Lawal is quite familiar with his new teammate Cooper Flagg. His Hokies suffered a lopsided loss to Flagg’s Blue Devils on Dec. 31, 2024, but Lawal finished with 19 points and five rebounds to Flagg’s 24 points, three rebounds, six assists and four steals.
The Mavericks’ newest second-round pick was born in London, but went to high school at Lee Academy in Lee, Maine — located about an hour and a half from Flagg’s hometown of Newport.
The Mavericks acquired the No. 48 pick at last season’s trade deadline, as part of the nine-player, three-team trade that sent Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards. They also received the No. 30 pick in that deal, which turned out to be Arizona forward Koa Peat, but traded his rights to the Knicks for the draft rights of De Larrea.
The selection of Lawal follows a notable trend of team president Masai Ujiri, who’s built a reputation for drafting versatile and athletic forwards. Schmitz described the rationale for why so many of the league’s successful teams have followed the pattern of building rosters with as much size as possible.
“With the evolution of shooting, there’s even more space you need to cover and more ground you need to cover defensively,” Schmitz said. “With the pace of play and just kind of the modernization of the game, having players who are bigger, longer, faster, stronger and just take up more space allows you to cover up more mistakes. We’re really excited about the size that we’ve added, the athleticism that we’ve added and these last couple of days showed that.”