DHJ Quick Take: Mavericks Sign Tobi Lawal to Two-Way Deal
The Dallas Mavericks have signed 2026 second-round pick Tobi Lawal to a two-way contract, keeping the rookie forward in the organization’s development pipeline as he transitions from Virginia Tech to the NBA.
- Who did the Mavericks sign? Dallas signed rookie forward Tobi Lawal, the No. 48 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, to a two-way contract.
- What did Lawal do in college? Lawal averaged 12.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game as a senior at Virginia Tech in 2025-26.
- What’s next? Lawal will wear No. 33 and is expected to play for Dallas’s Summer League team, which opens July 9 against the Golden State Warriors.
DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks announced Friday that they have signed rookie forward Tobi Lawal to a two-way contract.
Dallas selected Lawal with the No. 48 overall pick in the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, one of four rookies the Mavericks added during draft weekend. The 6-foot-9, 213-pound forward finished his college career at Virginia Tech after beginning it at VCU.
As a senior in 2025-26, Lawal averaged 12.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting .542 from the field and .763 from the free-throw line across 23 games, 17 of them starts, for the Hokies. He missed nine games that season with an ankle injury that required surgery but still finished among the ACC’s top rebounders and posted six double-doubles.
Tobi Lawal’s Path to Dallas
Lawal, a London native, did not pick up a basketball until age 16. He played at Lee Academy in Lee, Maine, before committing to VCU, where he averaged 1.3 points as a freshman in 2022-23 before a larger role the following season, when he posted 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game across 38 games.
He transferred to Virginia Tech ahead of the 2024-25 season and started 30 games, averaging 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in his first season as a Hokie. Lawal entered the 2025 NBA Draft before withdrawing to return to Virginia Tech for his senior season. He declared again for the 2026 draft after that season and accepted an invite to the NBA Draft Combine, where he recorded a 40-inch standing vertical jump.
What’s Next for Tobi Lawal
Lawal will wear No. 33 for Dallas. He is on the Mavericks’ 2026 NBA Summer League roster and is expected to play when the team opens Summer League action July 9 against the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas.
The signing gives Dallas an added depth piece in a frontcourt undergoing a full offseason overhaul under new head coach Dusty May, new head of basketball operations Masai Ujiri, and new general manager Mike Schmitz.
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