The high-flying Tobi Lawal is headed to the Dallas Mavericks. (Jon Fleming)

Virginia Tech men's basketball forward Tobi Lawal was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the 48th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft on Wednesday.


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The London, England, native became the first Hokies player drafted since Nickeil Alexander-Walker in 2019 when the Mavs and new head coach Dusty May called his name with the 18th pick in the second round. Alexander-Walker was the NBA's Most Improved Player this season.

Lawal was in Brooklyn, N.Y., with his family and Tech head coach Mike Young on Wednesday night as a green room attendee. He's the first player Young has ever had selected in the NBA Draft.

The forward turned heads at the NBA Combine in May with a 40.5-inch standing vertical, the second-highest mark in the event's history, and a 45.5-inch max vertical.

Known for his high-flying dunks and impressive blocks, Lawal spent the last two seasons in Blacksburg. He averaged 12.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a senior while shooting 54.2 percent (90-for-166) from the field and swatting 26 shots. As a junior, his averages included 12.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game with a 37.1 percent (23-for-62) clip from behind the arc.

In 2024, Lawal transferred to Virginia Tech from VCU, where he spent his first two years. He averaged 7.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore with the Rams.

A late bloomer who didn't begin playing basketball until he was 16, Lawal got started at the City of London Academy before moving to the United States. He averaged 14.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game at Lee Academy in Maine in 2021-22, which caught the eye of then-VCU assistant J.D. Byers, who recruited him to Richmond. Lawal later followed Byers to Blacksburg.

He heard his name called one pick after Tyler Nickel, the former Hokies forward who finished his career at Vanderbilt. Nickel went to the Phoenix Suns with the 47th pick.

For a full list of Virginia Tech players selected in the NBA Draft, click here.