Dave McMenamin
Mar 16, 2026, 07:15 AM ET
Marcus Smart was scanning Anthony Edwards’ line in the box score after the Lakers beat the Timberwolves 120-106 on March 10. Exhaustion shifted to a sparkle of satisfaction: Edwards had 14 points on 2-for-15 shooting and was 0-for-5 in the 23 possessions Smart guarded. The same Edwards who tormented the Lakers last spring had been stifled by Smart, the former Defensive Player of the Year who joined Los Angeles months after Boston’s first-round upset.
For the Lakers the win offered hope in a season of inconsistency. For Smart it was proof he could still lock down All-Stars at age 32 after two injury-riddled seasons that left him on the margins in Memphis and Washington — and after coming perilously close to losing use of his right hand eight years earlier.
Smart almost lost the right hand after punching a picture frame in frustration following a 2018 loss in Los Angeles. A five-inch shard of glass became embedded in his palm, he bled heavily, received 20 stitches and was told he was lucky to retain use of the hand. Surgeons left a piece of glass because removing it would have caused more damage. He missed 11 games but returned to help Boston reach deep postseason runs, including his DPOY season and a 2022 Finals appearance.
Those years with the Celtics established Smart as a defensive disruptor, a player who amassed more than 1,000 steals by sticking his hand into passing lanes and taking charges. But in Memphis his right hand began to deteriorate through injuries and surgeries. He suffered dislocations, torn ligaments, a ruptured tendon in his proximal interphalangeal joint in January 2024 that ended his season, and later a partial tear of the proximal extensor hood of his right index finger. For years he played with lingering glass, numbness and intermittent loss of feeling.
Memphis’ season spiraled, too. Ja Morant was suspended and then mostly unavailable; the Grizzlies had a roster beset by injuries and missed the playoffs for the first time in Smart’s career. Smart says he felt pressure from Memphis to play before he was ready and believed rumors painted him as disengaged despite gestures that showed otherwise. After returning from a 21-game absence in February 2025, he was traded to Washington as part of a three-team salary move that helped Memphis avoid luxury-tax implications. The Grizzlies included a first-round pick to shed the remainder of Smart’s contract.
A Wizards source said the Marcus portrayed in Memphis wasn’t the complete picture, that Washington felt comfortable adding him and he exceeded expectations during his brief stay. Smart reached a buyout with Washington in July, giving back $6.5 million of his 2025-26 salary, and became a free agent. The Lakers, limited in ways to upgrade their roster, signed Smart to a two-year, $11 million deal using the biannual exception; Luka Dončić recruited him with a phone call.
Smart arrived in L.A. wanting to prove his last two seasons were anomalies. In conversations with coach JJ Redick he asked for the chance to earn minutes and to be judged by performance rather than politics. Redick told him the team needed his defense, his voice and that if he played at his best he’d play a lot. Redick has started Smart 49 games; Smart has averaged 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 40.3% overall and 34.0% from three. With Smart on the floor the Lakers’ defensive efficiency is 111.1 this season versus 117.7 with him off.
Smart has drawn 19 charges, tied for second-most in the NBA, and regularly flips momentum with hustle plays. Teammates credit him with setting the tone. Austin Reaves says Smart’s competitive level forces everyone to match his effort. Reaves, LeBron James and Dončić have leaned on Smart to be the on-court agitator and locker-room steadying voice amid a roster of strong personalities.
Statistically, Smart has held top opponents in check. He has limited 2026 All-Stars like Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards to a 44.3% effective field-goal percentage when he’s guarded them, fifth best among players who defended 100-plus shots this season, per ESPN Research. Wolves coach Chris Finch praised Smart as a point-of-attack defender who can mark somebody one-on-one — a valuable trait for playoff basketball.
Smart’s impact shows in moments: on March 3 he hit a corner 3 to extend a late Lakers lead over the Pelicans, finishing with seven assists, four steals and three blocks. Against the Nuggets he stripped Aaron Gordon, setting up a crucial layup, and later hit a go-ahead 3 in overtime. He also advised Reaves to intentionally miss the second of two free throws late in regulation — a strategic play that helped force overtime.
Smart’s season hasn’t been without lows. He missed games with back spasms and had several poor shooting nights — 1-for-12 against the Clippers, 0-for-7 in a loss to Boston — yet he keeps contributing through defense, drawing charges and making winning plays. He’s started the third-most games, played the fifth-most minutes and taken the sixth-most shot attempts for the Lakers this season.
Reflecting on his journey, Smart noted the physical toll on his right hand and how blessed he feels to still have it. “I’ve had two dislocations with torn ligaments in two of the fingers,” he said. “I’ve had glass in my hand. I’ve torn ligaments on my right thumb and had surgery there. I dislocated four out of my five fingers in total … my whole right hand just has been through a lot. So to be honest, I’m blessed to even have my right hand.” He described years of numbness and games where he lacked feeling but had to play through it.
Beyond the hand, Smart said his leadership aim in L.A. is to keep the roster together through slumps and to maintain positivity. “We got a lot of egos,” he said. “My leadership was to just make sure I can keep the guys together, keep the positivity and not really let us go into that sunken place that you see most teams do when they’re in a drought.”
Redick believes Smart’s presence helps rewrite the narrative of his career: “He’s made an impact on winning,” Redick said. “And I think that ultimately is … that’s how you rewrite the narrative of your career, is if you’re on a winning team.”
For Smart, limiting stars like Edwards or Murray and making timely plays is both personal validation and a statement to doubters. “We’re tired of hearing people talk s—, basically,” he said. “I know I am. And if you’re a competitor, if you have any type of competitor in you, you’re going to be tired of that too. So you want to try to prove ’em wrong.”
ESPN’s Matt Williams contributed to this report.
