Mavericks dismiss director of health and performance Johann Bilsborough, sources say
mavericks-fire-health-director-johann-bilsborough
The Dallas Mavericks have fired director of health and performance Johann Bilsborough, marking the fourth straight year the organization has overhauled its medical and performance staff, according to sources familiar with the decision.
The move was made Monday, one day after the injury-plagued 2025-26 campaign ended without a postseason berth.
Sources added that a successor will be chosen by the franchise’s yet-to-be-hired lead basketball operations executive. Team governor Patrick Dumont hopes to fill that executive position by mid-May.
Bilsborough, an Australian sports scientist with a doctorate and previous stops with the New England Patriots and Boston Celtics, spent two seasons in Dallas. The Mavericks failed to reach the playoffs both years after appearing in the 2024 NBA Finals. Team officials sought “a fresh start and new ideology” in the health and performance area, sources said.
Former general manager Nico Harrison brought in Bilsborough as the hand-picked replacement for longtime athletic trainer Casey Smith. Harrison had dismissed Smith in August 2023, ending Smith’s 20-year tenure with the club.
Smith sat out the final season of his Mavericks contract before joining the New York Knicks as vice president of sports medicine. The Knicks captured the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association’s Training Staff of the Year award in Smith’s first season, an honor Dallas earned in 2020-21 and 2021-22 under his direction.
Turnover in Dallas continued at the end of last season when the Mavericks let go of first-year athletic performance director Keith Belton. Belton had replaced veteran strength and conditioning coach Jeremy Holsopple, who was dismissed following the 2024 Finals run and later hired by the Los Angeles Lakers as their athletic performance director.
Source: ESPN
