The Los Angeles Lakers added former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart on a two-year contract after he was bought out by the Washington Wizards. Smart fills an immediate need for the Lakers, who were sorely missing a point-of-attack defender after losing Dorian Finney-Smith in free agency to the Houston Rockets. Smart is arguably the best defensive player surrounding LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Smart’s role in L.A., should he stay healthy, will be relatively straightforward. He’ll likely be asked to guard opposing team’s best perimeter players while hitting open 3-pointers on the offensive end. He has never been a consistently great 3-point shooter, but he has also never played next to the offensive minds he has now.
One thing he’s particularly excited for is the chance to play next to James, who tormented his Boston Celtics — and every other team in the East — for 15 years before moving West. He knows that playing next to LeBron will open things up for him on the offensive end, via Spectrum SportsNet:
“I mean, it’s not every day you get to play against, let alone with, one of the greatest players to ever play this game. We all know his IQ in this game is ridiculous, and playing against him, you see it. To be able to see it on the other side, to witness it and benefit from it, instead of him taking me out with it on the defensive end. Just to be able to soak it all in like a sponge is an opportunity that I’m blessed to be able to have.”
Smart has seen LeBron’s brilliance from across the court for over a decade now and seen how he makes the game easier for everyone he plays with and more difficult for everyone he plays against. Now, he’s going to experience the former for the first time instead of the latter.
Obviously, it’s no longer peak James or peak Smart wearing a Lakers uniform in 2025-26. However, LeBron is still one of the best players in the world and can still impact the game on a night-to-night basis in virtually every way.
Marcus Smart discusses Luka Doncic’s recruitment
The Lakers have not many moves this offseason, but their most notable ones have come thanks to Luka Doncic.
The Slovenian superstar recruited both Deandre Ayton and Smart to join the Lakers after they were bought out by their respective teams. Doncic is not yet under contract long-term with L.A. but clearly has his footprints all over the organization and their offseason moves.
After Smart’s signing became official, he expressed appreciation to Doncic for reaching out multiple times to get him to join the Lakers.
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