On March 10, after the Lakers beat the Timberwolves 120-106, Marcus Smart found himself studying Anthony Edwards’ line in the box score. Exhaustion gave way to satisfaction: Edwards had 14 points on 2-for-15 shooting and was 0-for-5 in the 23 possessions Smart guarded. The same All-Star who tormented the Lakers last spring had been stifled by Smart, the veteran defender who joined Los Angeles months after Boston’s upset exit the previous season.
For the Lakers, the win was a rare clear sign of progress in an up-and-down year. For Smart, it was evidence that at 32 he can still take away elite scorers after two injury-marred seasons in Memphis and a brief stop in Washington — and after nearly losing use of his right hand years earlier.
Smart’s hand story is well-known but no less extraordinary: in 2018, frustrated after a loss in Los Angeles, he punched a picture frame and embedded a five-inch shard of glass into his palm. He bled heavily, received 20 stitches and was told he was lucky to keep use of the hand. Surgeons left a fragment of glass in place because removing it risked greater damage. He missed 11 games but returned to play a key role in Boston’s deep playoff runs, earned Defensive Player of the Year honors and reached the 2022 Finals.
The hand, however, became more fragile in later years. In Memphis Smart endured dislocations, torn ligaments and a ruptured tendon in his proximal interphalangeal joint that ended his 2024 season; he later suffered a partial tear of the proximal extensor hood of his right index finger. For years he played with numbness, intermittent loss of feeling and the knowledge there was still glass in his hand. He’s described multiple dislocations and surgeries and says he’s blessed to still have full use of his right hand.
Memphis’ season also unraveled. With Ja Morant suspended and the roster hit by injuries, the Grizzlies missed the playoffs for the first time in Smart’s career. Smart says he felt pushed to play before he was ready and that rumblings painted him as disengaged even as he tried to help. After a 21-game absence, he returned and was soon moved in a three-team salary trade to Washington; Memphis included a first-round pick to shed the remaining years of his contract.
Washington viewed the player differently. A team source said the Marcus Smart portrayed in Memphis wasn’t the full picture and that he exceeded expectations during his brief time with the Wizards. In July Smart reached a buyout, returning $6.5 million of his 2025–26 salary, and became a free agent.
The Lakers, constrained in how they could upgrade, used the biannual exception to sign Smart to a two-year, $11 million deal. Luka Dončić personally recruited him with a call. Smart arrived determined to prove his last two seasons were anomalies. He told coach JJ Redick he wanted the chance to earn minutes and to be judged on performance; Redick told him the team needed his defense and voice and that if he played well he’d play a lot.
Redick has started Smart in 49 games this season. Smart is averaging 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 40.3% overall and 34.0% from three. The Lakers’ defensive efficiency with Smart on the floor is 111.1 versus 117.7 when he’s off — a measurable boost. Smart has drawn 19 charges, tied for second-most in the NBA, and flips momentum with hustle plays that teammates say set the tone.
Austin Reaves says Smart’s competitive level forces everyone to match his effort. LeBron James and Dončić have leaned on him to be both the on-court agitator and a steady locker-room voice among a roster of strong personalities. Smart’s leadership, he says, is aimed at keeping the group together through slumps and resisting the “sunken place” teams fall into in droughts.
Defensively, Smart has held top opponents in check. ESPN research shows he’s limited All-Stars like Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards to a 44.3% effective field-goal percentage when he’s the primary defender, fifth best among players who defended 100-plus shots this season. Wolves coach Chris Finch praised Smart as a point-of-attack defender who can stick with a player one-on-one — a trait that matters most in playoff matchups.
His impact turns up in game moments. On March 3 he hit a corner 3 to extend a late lead against New Orleans and finished with seven assists, four steals and three blocks. Against Denver he stripped Aaron Gordon to spark a key layup and later buried a go-ahead 3 in overtime. He even advised Austin Reaves to intentionally miss a free throw late in regulation on another night to improve the Lakers’ chance of getting the rebound and forcing overtime.
Smart’s season hasn’t been spotless. He’s missed games with back spasms and suffered brutal shooting nights — 1-for-12 against the Clippers and 0-for-7 in a loss to Boston — yet he keeps contributing through defense, drawing charges and making clutch 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.
Asked about the physical toll, Smart recapped the injuries candidly: “I’ve had two dislocations with torn ligaments in two of the fingers. 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 said there were stretches when numbness left him without feeling, but he had to play through it.
Redick believes Smart is rewriting the narrative of the last two seasons. “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, shutting down stars and making timely plays is validation and a message to skeptics. “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.”
This season, through defense and intangibles born from pain and persistence, Smart has reestablished himself as a key piece for a Lakers team that needs his energy, toughness and leadership as it pushes toward the postseason.
