Tobi Lawal has become the second Maine basketball player to join the Dallas Mavericks after Cooper Flagg was drafted No. 1 overall last summer.
Lawal, originally of London and a graduate of Lee Academy, was picked 48th in the 2026 NBA draft.
The high school wished Lawal congratulations in a Facebook post Wednesday.
Lee Academy, a private boarding and day high school in the Penobscot County town of Lee, is New England’s northernmost basketball preparatory program.
“Tobi is one of the most explosive athletes, if not the most explosive athlete, in the draft in college basketball,” Mavericks General Manager Mike Schmitz said in the team’s Wednesday press release. “Just his energy, his motor, his toughness.
Lawal came to Lee Academy after playing in the City of London Academy program, before coming to Maine. After his graduation in 2022, he committed to play college basketball for the VCU Rams. He then transferred to play for the Virginia Tech Hokies until he was drafted.
Lawal’s move to the Mavericks comes a year after Flagg went to Dallas. The Maine native had a standout season, becoming Rookie of the Year and being named to TIME magazine’s list of top 100 most influential people of the year.
