Marcus Smart is the most recent Boston Celtics alum to join the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason. While Smart isn’t the oldest player in the NBA by any means, he’s old enough to have been in the league when Lakers legend Kobe Bryant was still playing.

Enter Marcus Smart, the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year winner, who gives the Lakers the player and culture-setting leader they’ve been searching for on that end of the floor. The Oklahoma state product is heading into his 12th NBA season, coming off a year in which he played the second-lowest number of games in his career at 34.

Veteran guard Marcus Smart will sign with the Los Angeles Lakers after receiving a contract buyout from the Washington Wizards, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.