Former Celtics All-Defensive Teamer Gets Honest About Guarding Lakers' Kobe Bryant

Alex Kirschenbaum | Aug 3, 2025

May 1, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart (36) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks guard Jrue Holiday (21) in the first quarter during game one of the second round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images / David Butler II-Imagn Images

Defending 18-time All-Star former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant was no picnic — even for an eventual Defensive Player of the Year.

Former three-time All-Defesnsive Team Celtics guard Marcus Smart, who has since joined the Los Angeles Lakers this summer after reaching a buyout with the Washington Wizards, looked back on his first stint guard the 2008 MVP as a young Celtics lottery pick.

Smart spoke on the Lakers' official YouTube channel about the inaugural moment he guarded Bryant.

"Honestly, I was shaking. I'm a rookie or second year, one of those here. All I'm thinking is my mom is watching me guarding Kobe. My brother's watching me guard Kobe right now," Smart reflected. "Like, I hope somebody got a picture of this."

Smart, the No. 6 pick in 2014 out of Oklahoma State, overlapped for two years with Bryant. Although Bryant was no longer in his All-NBA prime by that point, the 6-foot-6 swingman remained a crafty-if-inefficient scorer.

Across Bryant's final two L.A. seasons, the five-time league champion played just 101 of a 164 possible games. In those bouts, Bryant averaged 19.2 points on .364/.287/.820 shooting splits, 4.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 steals a night.

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"In my mind, I'm like, listen, just live in this moment because to be on the court with one of the all-time greats is an honor, let alone to be guarding him," Smart said. "So, to embody the Mamba Mentality: patience, stealth, and a stone cold killer; and now to be a Laker with that mentality, it just amplifies it."

Smart evolved to become an elite perimeter defender in Boston, capable of capable guarding guards and wings with equal aplomb. His constant pressure defense had something of a physical toll on his athleticism, and he hasn't looked like himself across the past two seasons. He won't be asked to do as much for the Lakers as he was during his Celtics prime, so perhaps in reduced minutes he can better resemble his Boston-era self.

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