Marcus Smart Houston Rockets · #36
Marcus Smart is a veteran defensive guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year — the first guard to win the award since Gary Payton in 1996. Drafted 6th in 2014 out of Oklahoma State, he spent nine seasons as the defensive heart of the Boston Celtics before stops in Memphis and Washington. He signed with the Lakers in 2025 as a point-of-attack stopper and veteran leader.
Marcus Smart — the report card
Read his whole game at a glance, then dive into any skill. Grades from the DNA model + real production.
Where Marcus Smart stands
Live ladders from the Balladex models, and what he's chasing. Rankings recompute nightly from real production, accolades, and search demand.
Marcus Smart — every number, three levels deep
Headline → metric → the raw history behind it. Real career data; tracking-only metrics labeled.
How the model sees Marcus Smart
Projection = per-minute rate × projected minutes. Rates are recency- and health-weighted, aged along a per-stat curve, and adjusted for live usage/role. No black box — every number shows its work.
Marcus Smart career stats, season by season
| Season | GP | MIN | PTS | REB | AST | FG% | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | 67 | 27.0 | 7.8 | 3.3 | 3.1 | .367 | .335 |
| 2015-16 | 61 | 27.3 | 9.1 | 4.2 | 3.0 | .348 | .253 |
| 2016-17 | 79 | 30.4 | 10.6 | 3.9 | 4.6 | .359 | .283 |
| 2017-18 | 54 | 29.9 | 10.2 | 3.5 | 4.8 | .367 | .301 |
| 2018-19 | 80 | 27.5 | 8.9 | 2.9 | 4.0 | .422 | .364 |
| 2019-20 | 60 | 32.0 | 12.9 | 3.8 | 4.9 | .375 | .347 |
| 2020-21 | 48 | 32.9 | 13.1 | 3.5 | 5.7 | .398 | .330 |
| 2021-22 | 71 | 32.3 | 12.1 | 3.8 | 5.9 | .418 | .331 |
| 2022-23 | 61 | 32.1 | 11.5 | 3.1 | 6.3 | .415 | .336 |
| 2023-24 | 20 | 30.3 | 14.5 | 2.7 | 4.3 | .430 | .313 |
| 2024-25 (Memphis) | 19 | 21.0 | 8.7 | 2.3 | 3.7 | .358 | .322 |
| 2024-25 (Washington) | 15 | 18.7 | 9.3 | 1.9 | 2.5 | .440 | .392 |
| 2025-26 | 62 | 28.5 | 9.3 | 2.8 | 3.0 | .395 | .331 |
| Career | 697 | 29.4 | 10.5 | 3.4 | 4.4 |
The Lab
Every number, live and interactive. Real career data; models labeled.
Are the Houston Rockets built to win?
Team projection rolled up from the roster + last-season baselines — and what it means for his role.
The Ballad of Marcus Smart
Birth to now — the making of a legend, narrated and scored.
The beginning
A hustle-and-defense icon and Defensive Player of the Year — the Lakers' veteran perimeter stopper.
Turning pro
Drafted 6th overall, 2014 as a Guard.
true
A hustle-and-defense icon and Defensive Player of the Year — the veteran stopper the Lakers added for toughness.
Chapter
A Big 12 Player of the Year at Oklahoma State, Smart was drafted 6th in 2014 and became the defensive heart of Boston.
Chapter
In 2022 he won Defensive Player of the Year — the first guard since Gary Payton in 1996.
Off the court
- Height
- 6' 3"
- Weight
- 220 lbs
- College
- Oklahoma State
- Experience
- 13th Season
- NBA debut
- 2014
- Draft
- 6th overall, 2014
- Born
- Flower Mound, Texas
- Age
- 32
- Jersey
- #36
Smart's competitiveness is rooted in loss and family: he lost his brother Todd to cancer as a boy and his mother, Camellia, to cancer in 2018, tragedies he has said drive his all-out playing style. One of five brothers, he built a reputation as the ultimate winning-plays guard — the kind of player teammates credit with 'getting everybody going.'
His identity is defense taken to an extreme. With a 6-foot-9 wingspan on a 6-foot-3 frame, he guards all five positions and switches with rare efficiency, earning three All-Defensive First Team nods and a Defensive Player of the Year award. For a Lakers team built on offense, his veteran point-of-attack defense is a targeted, valuable addition.
A relentless, versatile defensive stopper and vocal leader — hustle and toughness personified.
Marcus Smart — frequently asked
The questions people ask most about Marcus Smart, answered.
