Marcus Osmond Smart (born March 6, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Smart is considered as one of the greatest point of attack defenders in the National Basketball Association right now. He played college basketball for the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Smart was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. He initially came off the bench for the Celtics before starting games regularly in 2018 and becoming the starting point guard in 2021. Smart was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the 2021β22 season, becoming only the sixth guard in NBA history to win the award. He has also been named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team twice and is a three-time NBA Hustle Award winner, winning it in 2019, 2022, and 2023. Smart helped the Celtics reach the NBA Finals in 2022. After eight seasons in Boston, Smart was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in 2023, where he struggled with injuries, leading to him getting traded again to the Washington Wizards in 2025.
Smart played youth football until the sixth grade and continues to enjoy playing tennis in his spare time.
Considered a five-star recruit by ESPN.com, Smart was listed as the No. 1 shooting guard and the No. 10 player in the nation in 2012.
On November 19, 2013, Smart tied an OSU single game scoring record with 39 points leading the #7-seed Oklahoma State Cowboys past the #11-seed Memphis. On February 8, 2014, during a game at Texas Tech, Smart shoved a fan in the stands after a verbal altercation in the closing minutes of the game, and received a technical foul. Reports after the game stated that Smart claimed the fan yelled a racial slur at him. At a press conference the following afternoon, Smart would not comment on that element of the altercation, and coach Travis Ford chose not to address it. The fan denied using a racial slur and stated that he called Smart "a piece of crap." Audio from the incident confirmed the fan's account. Smart was subsequently suspended for three games and the fan agreed not to attend any further Texas Tech games during the 2013β14 season.
Later that season, Smart was named one of the 30 finalists for the Naismith College Player of the Year. In the first game of the 2014 NCAA tournament, the Cowboys lost to Gonzaga. Smart finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists and six steals, becoming the first player in tournament history to record 20 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, and five steals.
During his two seasons at Oklahoma State, Smart averaged 16.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 33.1 minutes per game. On April 7, 2014, he declared for the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of college eligibility.
On July 16, 2015, while playing for the Celtics at the 2015 Las Vegas Summer League, Smart dislocated two fingers on his right hand. On November 15, Smart scored a career-high 26 points in a 100β85 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Between November 22 and December 26, he missed 18 games with a lower left leg injury. Smart returned to action on December 27 against the New York Knicks, scoring six points in 13 minutes off the bench. On January 15, 2016, in a 117β103 victory over the Phoenix Suns, he recorded his first career triple-double with 10 points, 11 assists, and 11 rebounds, becoming the first Celtics player to record a triple-double off the bench since Art Williams did so in 1971. On January 31, Smart tied his career high of 26 points in a 119β114 loss to the Orlando Magic.
During Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 21, Smart, who started in place of the injured Isaiah Thomas, made seven three-pointers and scored 27 points to help the Celtics defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 111β108. The Celtics were blown out in the first two games of the series and came back from a 21-point deficit in the third quarter of Game 3. Boston went on to lose the series in five games.
On June 29, 2018, the Celtics tendered a qualifying offer to make Smart a restricted free agent. On July 19, he re-signed with the Celtics to a four-year, $52 million contract. On November 9, Smart had his first double-double of the season with 13 points and a season-high 10 assists in a 123β115 loss to the Utah Jazz. Smart missed the end of the regular season and the first round of the playoffs with a left oblique tear. He returned during the second round of the playoffs. Following the season, Smart was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team.
On April 28, 2021, Smart was suspended for one game without pay for directing threatening language towards a game official.
Smart was named the 2021β22 NBA Defensive Player of the Year on April 18, 2022, the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton won it in 1996. Smart became the fifth guard in NBA history (alongside Michael Jordan, Gary Payton, Sidney Moncrief, and Alvin Robertson) to win the award. He was also named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, receiving more first-place votes than any other NBA player.
On May 19, 2022, in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Smart recorded a playoff career-high 12 assists along with 24 points, nine rebounds, and three steals in a 127β102 victory over the Miami Heat to tie the series at 1β1. Ten days later in Game 7, he logged 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals during a 100β96 victory, advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in his career, and the Celtics' first NBA Finals appearance since 2010. During Game 3 of the Finals, Smart posted 24 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in a 116β100 victory over the Golden State Warriors. The Celtics took a 2β1 series lead, but eventually lost in six games.
In the 2023 NBA playoffs, Smart averaged 14.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He averaged 34 minutes played per game, shot 45.3% from the field overall, made 36.1% of three-point attempts, and made 80% of free throw attempts. Smart had only 1.9 fouls times per game, and turned the ball over 2.3 times per game.
On October 25, 2023, Smart made his Grizzlies debut, putting up 17 points, three assists, and two steals in a 111β104 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. At the 2024 NBA All-Star break, Smart averaged a career best 14.4 points alongside 2.0 steals while playing 30.2 minutes per game. However, he only appeared in 20 games during the 2023β24 season due to injuries. Smart played in just one game following the All-Star break, a 121β118 overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 18, where he played just five minutes without recording a single stat in any category.
On July 20, Smart was waived by the Wizards after a contract buyout agreement.
Smart has earned a reputation as a hustle player. He is known for diving for loose balls and taking charges, and has been nicknamed "the Cobra" as a result. Due to his physicality, quick hands, and elite basketball IQ, many consider Smart to be one of the most versatile and consistent defenders in the NBA.
Although not a high percentage shooter, Smart is aggressive on offense and defense. He often guards opposing players taller than he is, using his physicality to make them uncomfortable and often causing turnovers or missed shots. Over his years in the league, Smart's three-point shooting has improved. His former teammate, Kemba Walker, describes the energy Smart brings to the game: "It's exciting. It's energizing. He just gets everybody going. Gets us going, gets the crowd going. Like I said, we just kinda feed off him. He just does so many great things. And propels our defense each and every night."
|- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 79 || 24 || 30.4 || .359 || .284 || .812 || 3.9 || 4.6 || 1.6 || .4 || 10.6 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 54 || 11 || 29.9 || .367 || .301 || .729 || 3.5 || 4.8 || 1.3 || .4 || 10.2 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 80 || 60 || 27.5 || .422 || .364 || .806 || 2.9 || 4.0 || 1.8 || .4 || 8.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 60 || 40 || 32.0 || .375 || .347 || .836 || 3.8 || 4.9 || 1.7 || .5 || 12.9 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 48 || 45 || 32.9 || .398 || .330 || .790 || 3.5 || 5.7 || 1.5 || .5 || 13.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 71 || 71 || 32.3 || .418 || .331 || .793 || 3.8 || 5.9 || 1.7 || .3 || 12.1 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Boston | 61 || 61 || 32.1 || .415 || .336 || .746 || 3.1 || 6.3 || 1.5 || .4 || 11.5 |- | style="text-align:left;"| | style="text-align:left;"|Memphis | 20 || 20 || 30.2 || .430 || .313 || .768 || 2.7 || 4.3 || 2.1 || .3 || 14.5 |- | style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2| | style="text-align:left;"|Memphis | 19 || 6 || 21.1 || .358 || .322 || .833 || 2.3 || 3.7 || 1.2 || .3 || 8.7 |- | style="text-align:left;"|Washington | 15 || 1 || 18.7 || .440 || .392 || .686 || 1.9 || 2.5 || 1.1 || .2 || 9.3 |- class="sortbottom" | style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"|Career | 635 || 387 || 29.5 || .388 || .324 || .776 || 3.4 || 4.6 || 1.6 || .4 || 10.6
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