The Los Angeles Lakers spent the 2025 offseason hoping to put the finishing touches on a roster that can immediately contend. With Luka Doncic and LeBron James leading the charge, Los Angeles has a star duo to which few can compare, thus making the dream of competing for a title realistic.
As the Lakers attempted to plug the remaining holes on the roster, their efforts brought them to Marcus Smart—a player who can provide the physicality and toughness they needed in 2024-25.
Los Angeles doesn’t have much to complain about on the roster front after acquiring Doncic in the midst of a 50-win season. It returns many of the players who helped it finish as a top-4 seed, with Dorian Finney-Smith acting as the notable departure.
For as great as the Lakers were in 2024-25, however, the lack of a player who can set the tone with their physicality was an arguable weakness.
Los Angeles won 50 games as more of a finesse team than a group that’s prepared to get its hands dirty in a more rugged battle on the court. It’s the type of quality that can’t be adequately quantified with the use of statistics, but instead comes down to a matter of mentality and mental toughness.
If any player can help set a tone in the locker room that will ensure Los Angeles is up to the challenge in 2025-26, it’s Smart—a Defensive Player of the Year who never backs down from a challenge.
Marcus Smart brings the toughness, physicality Lakers were missing
Smart won the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award and has three All-Defense nods on his résumé. He’s earned his accolades by defending virtually every position on the court, overcoming size disadvantages at 6’3″ by mastering the nuances of defense.
That includes knowing when to keep his distance and when to erase any semblance of it while defending players who could realistically shoot over him, yet consistently struggle to.
That translates to off-ball scenarios, in which Smart routinely fights through screens to keep his assigned offensive player within arm’s reach. It’s the type of determination that often separates the good from the great, as well as the contenders from the pretenders.
For the Lakers, having a vocal veteran who’s willing and able to set the tone on defense could go a long way toward establishing the culture head coach JJ Redick is hoping to.
Furthermore, there’s a case to be made that Smart’s perfect complement is already on the roster: Gabe VIncent. VIncent is a determined defender who has been to the NBA Finals and proved in 2024-25 that he can space the floor at a commendable level.
Along with LaRavia, a 3-and-D wing who offers offensive versatility, and Jarred Vanderbilt, known to be a wing stopper when healthy, the Lakers could have an elite second unit on defense.
There are questions to be answered about how the second unit will generate offense, with second-year wing Dalton Knecht continuing to look the part of the Lakers’ best option on that front. Smart resolves a separate issue, however, and will likely play minutes with the starters accordingly.