Marcus Smart is having somewhat of a resurgence with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers signed Marcus Smart this summer to add some wing defense to this Luka Doncic-led team, and he’s provided exactly that. He averages 1.8 steals per night in 26 minutes to help the Lakers to a 17-6 record.
After leaving the Boston Celtics, where he won the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2022, it seemed like Smart’s career was reaching its conclusion as he faded out of the NBA spotlight. But now he’s back on a contender as one of the most valued teammates and leaders in the entire league.
He explained how it has felt to play for the Lakers, his former team’s sworn rival.
Marcus Smart says he was ‘reborn’ joining LA Lakers
Smart is clearly a player who needs to be playing for something in order to get full enjoyment from his basketball. That’s not something he experienced at his last two stops, playing for the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards.
Smart said he feels ‘reborn’ now that he is competing for a championship with the Lakers, as he did when he played in Boston. He explained: “Coming from Boston for nine years, and the tradition there. And the things I’ve accomplished there, and kind of shipped off to where you’re not in the spotlight anymore.
“The games, in a sense, don’t matter as much, or you’re not really playing for anything. You’re kind of getting dull moments in your life where you just start questioning things.
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“And then you come back here, and you realize that tradition again with another organization, and the things that they bring, the effort that they take on the court. You’re like, damn, I really wanna be a part of that.
“That right there is why I joined, and started playing basketball when I first picked it up. It’s that moment right there. And to be back introduced to it, I guess you can say, had me be a reborn person. Like a little kid on the first day of school again.
“For us, playing this type of game, if you don’t love it anymore, it can get a little bit frustrating. So to bring that love back is very good for me, and very important.”
Smart has been a key player for the Lakers during his time on the court, and one who will need to continue to step up defensively if the Lakers have any hope of toppling the Oklahoma City Thunder on their way to the title.
Marcus Smart set to return from injury vs San Antonio Spurs
The Lakers are set to play in the NBA Cup quarterfinals against the San Antonio Spurs, a game in which Smart is ready to make his return to on-court action.
Smart has been out with a back injury, sidelining him for the last six games, but reports say that he’ll be ready to take on the Spurs in the Cup.
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“Yeah, that’s how I was. The first few, I was like, ‘Oh my god, come on.’ But I was like that with the Play-In game, too. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what are we doing?’
“But you’ve got to give Adam and the decision-makers a lot of credit for trying to find ways to be creative and to help add to the energy of the game.
“With both of those things, the Play-In game and the cup, they have done a tremendous job.”
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Speaking about the potential of his return, he said, “Back’s feeling good. Felt good in practice today. So we did some tests and passed them. We’re going to give it a shot tomorrow. See how it feels.”
It would be a major boost for the Lakers, whose stars have been in and out of the lineup in recent games. While their core is young, there are some key players on the Lakers’ roster, like LeBron James and Smart, who need to work hard to remain healthy on the back end of the year.
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