Marcus Smart was one of the under-the-radar acquisitions of the NBA offseason. The Los Angeles Lakers added him after the Washington Wizards bought him out, hoping he could still be the elite defender and complementary playmaker he was during his heyday with the Boston Celtics.
Smart didn’t cost the Lakers much because he has been snakebitten with injuries ever since the Celtics traded him in 2023. Since starting his Lakers tenure, his injury problems have not been entirely behind him.
Marcus Smart Opens Up on Achilles Injury Recovery
Smart has missed the Lakers’ practices because he has been dealing with Achilles tendinopathy. The new Laker opened up about how he has been approaching his new injury while talking with reporters on October 9.
“Just making sure you’re not putting yourself at extra risk,” Smart said, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “These types of things, they tend to make you feel better than you actually are sometimes. With our counterparts and colleagues seeing the things that they’ve been going through, you just want to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
Mentally, it’s been a roller coaster as well, but I have a great supporting cast around me to keep my head straight, to keep me optimistic, and the work that I’m doing to strengthen the tendon, maintain it keeps me optimistic as well.”
Marcus Smart opens up about his Achilles tendinopathy, saying it’s been a “mental rollercoaster” to deal with. He says scans show the tendon is strong, but there is nerve aggravation to deal with. He plans to play in the preseason but is unsure about Sunday pic.twitter.com/6PaKEQeSbO
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 9, 2025
Smart’s injuries over the last two seasons are hard for the Lakers not to ignore. Since Boston traded him, he has appeared in 54 games combined. He appeared more in this past season, 34, than he did the year before, 20. However, he still missed over half the season.
On paper, Smart is exactly what the Lakers need because of his reputation as one of the NBA’s best defenders while also proving himself as a solid playmaker, averaging 4.6 assists a game for his career.
However, that was all when he played for the Lakers’ rival, the Celtics. The bottom line is that the Grizzlies and Wizards both straight-up dumped him, which should give the Lakers some caution about what Smart is still capable of. However, as long as he recovers well from his Achilles tendinopathy, he could be a diamond-in-the-rough addition for LA.
The Lakers knew what they were getting into when they brought Smart in this summer, so to get him to reward their faith in him, they’ll be innovative in how they approach any injuries he sustains this season.
No pun intended.
