Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart’s passion for defense stems from what he has defended against during the dark days of his youth. Today, the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year is defending the league’s best guards while using his foundation to help cancer victims and aid troubled inner-city youth.
“As a defender, you’re always at a disadvantage when it comes to the game and sport of basketball. It was the same for me in the game of life,” Smart, 31, told Andscape. “It’s always been a challenge. It’s always been difficult. I’m the youngest of four boys. I’ve always had to fight for what I want. I lost my brother at a young age. I lost a couple family members. I lost some friends. And at a young age, I had to deal with and see things that you probably shouldn’t see.
“And that is what defense is. Defense is a disadvantage. The mentality has to be that you can’t take s— from anybody. You have to be able to adapt when things are thrown at you. There are going to be a lot of obstacles coming your way.”
Smart is now best known for being an elite NBA defender, starring previously for the Boston Celtics and now playing with NBA stars LeBron James and Luka Doncic with the Lakers. Smart has played in six career NBA games on Christmas with the Celtics. The three-time NBA All-Defensive Team selection is slated to play in his first Christmas game as a Laker today against the Houston Rockets.
The 12-year NBA veteran’s platform has also afforded the opportunity to help the less fortunate through his YounGameChanger Foundation. The mission of Smart’s wide-ranging foundation is to empower inner-city youth through education, sports, STEM education and mentoring. Moreover, YounGameChanger Foundation’s offers inspiration and relief to pediatric cancer patients and their families by offering support, fun distractions, opportunities and life-changing experiences.
“The YounGameChanger Foundation is a foundation helping to find a cure for cancer and it’s also helping to mentor inner-city kids,’’ Smart said. “I’m the youngest of four boys. My youngest brother was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 15. He battled up with it until he was 33 years old where he succumbed to it. All my experiences and resources were put to youth into trying to help my brother get better and cope with what he was dealing with. And then when I get older my mom got sick. So, I wanted to start something to help.
“My brother was the originator for me to start it. It’s really just to help families, mom, dads and people who are indirectly affected by it and spending a lot of time with people affected by it.”
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Smart started his foundation during his early years with the Celtics. The 6-foot-3 guard has made appearances to help the less fortunate all over the United States from Boston to Buffalo to Fort Cavazos, Texas, to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to Hawaii. Smart has also provided 30 of his “Smart Carts” to at least 16 hospitals nationally that are rolling carts with tablets and Nintendo Switch video game consoles to provide fun distractions, education and healthy competition for young patients and their families during long hospital visits. Smart joined forces with Buffalo Bills star quarterback Josh Allen to bring Smart Carts to Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo in 2024.
“These Smart Carts are a way for kids and their families to connect with society and with each other,” Smart said. “It takes them out of this world of negative news, needles and puts them back in a normal place where they feel like normal people, kids again. They can still be connected to the outside world even though they are stuck [in a hospital].
“There are people all over this world dealing with the effects of cancer directly or indirectly. I understand it all too well. What can I do and how can I help? The one way is to get the word out there. The more people that can talk about it, the more people that can encourage and help our cause. I want to get to Hawaii. I want to get to where nobody is really looking and thinking and believing that anyone really cares about their problem.”
To truly understand why Smart has been motivated to help fight against childhood illnesses and aid inner-city youth, you have to go back to his youth growing up in the Dallas-area.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart shoots a free throw during the game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 3 at the Moda Center Arena in Portland, Oregon.
Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images
Smart was born on March 6, 1994, to Billy and Camellia Smart. Smart’s older brother, Todd Westbrook, had a long battle with leukemia that began as a child. Smart spent a lot of time in hospitals with his family supporting his brother through his painful fight.
With no mental health assistance or person with experience to help him, Smart was nine years old when his brother passed away in January of 2004.
“As a kid who was dealing with a family member dealing with cancer, you’re stuck in a hospital for a long time,” Smart said. “There is a lot that you have to sacrifice individually. As kids, you want to move around. You want to do this. You want to do that. I learned early in it that I wished someone who had gone through what I was going through or had gone through could help me out [and say] ‘this is what is going happen. This is how it happens. You’re going to be all right when this happens.’
“At that time, because of that, I was getting into a lot of trouble. I was getting into fights. I just didn’t have that place to put that anger, frustration and misunderstanding of the situation or why it was happening to my family. Because of the misplaced aggression and frustration, I was just taking it out on the world. I’m really thankful that I’m here alive and not in jail. When I was younger I was getting kicked out of school. I went to alternative school because I got kicked out of school.”
Around the age of 12, Smart and one of his friends were engaged in their misplaced aggression when they put rocks in their pockets to throw at people from several floors from the ground at an apartment near his home in the Dallas suburb of Lancaster. One thrown rock hit a man riding a bicycle who fell to the ground afterwards. Unbeknownst to Smart and his friend was that the man they hit was a gang member.
A life-changing moment followed for a lucky Smart.
“We hit him. We hear somebody fall,” Smart recalled. “The guy is no longer on his bike. The bike is just sitting there and we no longer see the guy. And then all of the sudden we hear footsteps running up the stairs. So, I jump off the balcony. My friend takes off somewhere else. And the guy had a gun and he started shooting at us. He missed on his shots, thank God. But it was at that moment that I realized something needs to change. If not, you’re going to end up dead or in jail. And now your mom has another child she has to bury or worry about.
“I made the decision to change. I was at Red Oak High School. About a week into it, I said I couldn’t do this. I ended up moving to Flower Mound, which started the new beginning to where my life is now.”
“I always told my mom that if I ever had a chance to live out my dream you’ll never have to worry again. Before she passed, I was able to fulfill that for her. It feels great.”
-Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart
Smart promised his mother around the time his brother passed that he was going to make it to the NBA. The two-time Texas Mr. Basketball led Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, to back-to-back Class 5A state championships in 2011 and 2012. After starring at Oklahoma State for two seasons, he fulfilled that promise to his mother by being selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Celtics.
Smart became a fan favorite of the Celtics with his award-winning defense, toughness and philanthropy. He also played in five Eastern Conference finals and one NBA Finals. Tragically for Smart, his time in Boston also included his mother dying of bone marrow cancer at the age of 63 in September of 2018.
“I always told my mom that if I ever had a chance to live out my dream you’ll never have to worry again,” Smart said. “Before she passed, I was able to fulfill that for her. It feels great. I didn’t think I’d actually be here. Twelve years in the league. I’m truly blessed and I got that pension. I can’t be mad. But I’m here because of my mentality.
“There is always going to be something new and you always have to adapt. I’m still here because of my resilience. Bought her house and retired her and my dad. Bought her a brand new house and car.”
Smart next had three injury-plagued seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies (2022-24) and rebuilding Washington Wizards (2024-25). After landing a contract buyout from the Wizards, he returned to the NBA spotlight by signing a two-year, $11 million deal with the Lakers. Smart said signing with the Lakers gave him energy and new life with dreams of winning a first-ever title.
James, a former Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat star, said during Lakers Media Day that he was happy to add a player in Smart who played for his old Eastern Conference rival Celtics.
“We know the matchups that I had with Marcus over the years, especially when we were in the Eastern Conference — him in Boston, me in Cleveland — and all those matchups that we had,” James said. “Happy to have him. I know what he brings to the game. I know that team is first, second, third, fourth, fifth when it comes to Marcus Smart.”
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (left) and guard Marcus Smart (right) high five during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 10 at Crypto.Com Arena in Los Angeles.
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Smart became the 42nd player to have played for the Lakers and Celtics. He said he talked to his family about the oddity of it all before signing with the Lakers. Smart didn’t play in the Lakers’ 126-105 loss at Boston on Dec. 5 due to injury. He has an opportunity to play against the Celtics for the first time in a Lakers uniform in Los Angeles on Feb. 22, 2026
“It’s obviously weird being a Laker when you’ve been a Celtic for so long,” Smart said. “But the opportunity to play for two historical franchises in my career is unheard of and unprecedented. So, for me, it’s a different team from when I was in Boston. But it’s been great. Everyone has welcomed me with open arms.”
So, what could be learned through Smart’s story?
Above all, Smart hopes a yearning to help the less fortunate.
“I hope the younger generation can understand that we’ve been blessed enough to do what we do and provide for our families,” Smart said. “There are people out here in need and we have the ability to help. And sometimes all it takes is a little bit of time. It doesn’t take much. Just a little bit of time and a little bit of understanding. Being able to just pass that along makes the world better.”
Marc J. Spears is the senior NBA writer for Andscape. He used to be able to dunk on you, but he hasn’t been able to in years and his knees still hurt.