Ujiri has been a target of Mavericks leadership, including president Ethan Casson, for the last few weeks.
By Mike Curtis
Dallas Morning News
https://www.dallasnews.com/
The Dallas Mavericks have a new lead basketball decision-maker.
Former Toronto Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri has finalized a deal to become the Mavericks’ new team president, the team announced Monday. He will also serve as the team’s alternate governor.
An introductory news conference with Ujiri and Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont will be held Tuesday afternoon.
The splashy hire arrives six days before Sunday’s NBA draft lottery, ahead of Dumont’s timeline to have a new leader of basketball in place by mid-May.
Ujiri will oversee all aspects of basketball operations, including roster construction, player personnel and scouting. He has been a target of Mavericks leadership, including Dumont and president Ethan Casson, since December. A team official familiar with the hire confirmed that Dumont and Ujiri first met in December during a four-hour lunch in Las Vegas. The hiring gives the Mavericks an experienced executive who won an NBA championship and a new leader to navigate a critical offseason.
“The Dallas Mavericks are committed to being a world-class organization with a strong culture and focused on winning championships. Masai Ujiri is one of the great basketball leaders of this generation and his addition to our franchise is a critical step in meeting our goals,” Dumont said in a prepared statement.
“We are honored to have him join the Mavs family. We welcome his energy and determination along with his leadership, experience and many accomplishments as a basketball executive. We are very excited about the future of our team.”
Ujiri boasts a career record of 690-504 in his previous roles as general manager of the Raptors and Denver Nuggets. His proven track record aligns with Dumont’s methodical approach of pursuing high-profile candidates, following his first significant hire of bringing Rick Welts out of retirement to become the team’s new CEO last season. Dumont also hired Casson as the team’s new president of business operations last summer. Welts and Casson were also involved in the hiring process that lasted roughly six months.
Toronto had five consecutive losing seasons before hiring Ujiri, who transformed the franchise into a playoff contender with seven straight postseason appearances in his 12 years as executive vice president and general manager, from 2013 to 2025. The Raptors won six division titles and finished the 2017-18 regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference (59-23).
Under Ujiri’s leadership, Toronto won its first NBA title in franchise history in 2019, largely because of his decision to acquire Kawhi Leonard in a trade for DeMar DeRozan. The Raptors parted ways with Ujiri in 2025 after missing the playoffs in three straight seasons.
Before his long stint in Toronto, Ujiri spent three seasons as general manager and executive vice president of the Nuggets. He was the architect of the 2012-13 Nuggets roster that won 57 games, which is tied for the most in franchise history. As a result, he was named the 2013 NBA Executive of the Year, the only non-American to win the award.
“I’m honored to join the Dallas Mavericks and step into this role at such an important time for the organization,” Ujiri said in a prepared statement. “This is a franchise with a proud history, passionate fans and a commitment to winning. I look forward to working with our players, coaches, and leadership team to build something that reflects that standard and competes at the highest level. We will win in Dallas.”
Ujiri, 55, was born in the United Kingdom and raised in Nigeria. He played professional basketball in Europe from 1991 to 2002 and was hired by the Nuggets as an international scout. Ujiri spent four years in that role before the Raptors hired him as director of global scouting. He became the team’s assistant general manager in 2008, then returned to Denver in 2010.
Ujiri is also the founder of Giants of Africa, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering youth across the continent through basketball, education, and leadership development. In 2025, he was named a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, further reflecting his global impact.
Co-interim general managers Matt Riccardi and Michael Finley have led the Mavericks for the last five months, since the firing of Nico Harrison on Nov. 11. There haven’t been any decisions regarding their status with the franchise, a team official familiar with the situation said, but Riccardi was expected to be one of the team’s representatives at the lottery in Chicago, along with Rolando Blackman.
Ujiri succeeds Harrison, who made the controversial decision to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers for Anthony Davis, Max Christie and a 2029 first-round pick. Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban hired Harrison as general manager in 2021 after he served nearly 20 years as lead executive at Nike. Harrison did not have prior experience in an NBA front office prior to joining the Mavericks.
Cuban, the team’s minority owner, supports Dumont’s decision to hire Ujiri as team president and alternate governor.
“I like the pick,” Cuban said in an email to The News. “I’ve worked with him over the years. He knows his stuff. Knows how to build a team. And he worked for an owner in Toronto that was very similar to Patrick Dumont, so he will have that advantage as well. I think its a great pick.”
Ujiri will run the show in Dallas despite reports of Dumont’s interest in Tim Connelly, who is under contract as president of basketball operations with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He has several immediate needs to address, including the hiring of a new director of health and performance following the firing of Johann Bilsborough.
The Mavericks also have three picks in next month’s draft, including a first-round lottery pick that will be determined Sunday.
Ujiri recently joined the ownership group of the Toronto Tempo, the city’s new WNBA franchise that will begin its inaugural season this month. He expressed a desire to win another NBA title, according to a recent ESPN report, particularly because he was unable to celebrate on the court after the Raptors’ 2019 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Ujiri had a physical altercation with a San Antonio-based sheriff’s deputy who would not allow him to run onto the court because he didn’t provide the proper credentials, leading to a shoving match that was caught on video.
“There’s a hunger in me because of what happened,” he told ESPN. “I want to win again so I can actually enjoy it.”
The Mavericks would appear to be far from championship contention after finishing 26-56 this season, but they have a fresh opportunity to build a roster around Cooper Flagg, who was named NBA Rookie of the Year last week.
Mavericks Reporter
Mike is the Mavericks Beat Writer for The Dallas Morning News. Before his arrival at the DMN, he spent two seasons covering the Detroit Pistons at The Detroit News. Mike earned his bachelor’s degree in Communications from Tennessee State University and received his master’s degree in Media and Communication from Middle Tennessee State University.
