Marcus Smart is one of a handful of players to play on both sides of the storied rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Originally starting his career in Boston, Smart meant a lot to that city, but unfortunately he was not a part of their championship in 2024.
Smart was a part of a three-team trade that shipped him to the Memphis Grizzlies and brought Kristaps Porzingis to the Celtics. Since then, he has struggled with injuries and is not that player he once was a few years ago.
However, the veteran guard looked to rehab his value and play winning basketball again by signing with Los Angeles. So far it has been a success for both parties as Smart is playing as well as he has in years.
Not many players can say they have played for two historic franchises like the Lakers and Celtics, so Smart discussed what the feeling is like, via the NBA:
"It’s 42? That I am surprised at." 😅
We put Marcus Smart on the spot to see how many players have suited up for both the Celtics and Lakers… how many could he name?
6:30pm/et | NBC & Peacock | Sunday Night Basketball pic.twitter.com/d8RCeN9RAm
— NBA (@NBA) February 22, 2026
Sunday features the second meeting between the two franchises, Smart did not play in the first meeting in Boston. L.A. opted to rest key players back on Dec. 5, leading to a lopsided loss and not highlighting the theatrics that are baked into whenever these teams matchup.
Now with the Lakers fully healthy coming into this one, there should be more intrigue as Smart gets to play against his former team. He missed the first matchup between these two teams in Boston a couple of months ago.
The purple and gold have been looking to get back to the mountaintop and time will tell if Smart can win a championship on one side of the rivalry, which would tie the Lakers with the Celtics at 18 total titles each.
Marcus Smart was excited to reunite with Luke Kennard
At the trade deadline, the Lakers opted to stay quiet outside of trading for Luke Kennard. While it is not a flashy move, Kennard fills a role of providing a bit of a scoring punch off the bench, which L.A. needs desperately.
Before his time with the Atlanta Hawks, the sharpshooter was on the Memphis Grizzlies with Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia. Now he gets to play alongside them both in Los Angeles and Smart in particular was excited to reunite Kennard and it has been a great fit so far.
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