Luka Doncic Makes His Deepest Laker Goal Known After Recruiting Marcus Smart

The Los Angeles Lakers have been busy planning their future since February and are arguably the team with the most eyes on them heading into the 2025–26 season. They brought in Luka Doncic, signed Deandre Ayton, and now have Marcus Smart on board. His arrival should be particularly exciting for fans of the Purple and Gold because it was Doncic, the franchise’s new cornerstone, who recruited him.

Something that LA was missing during their 2025 playoff run was a point-of-attack defender, a role that Smart will now fit into perfectly. The former Boston Celtics star was the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year and gives the Lakers some personality on the defensive side.

When NBA insider Shams Charania reported the deal, which had the Lakers paying Smart $11 million for two years, he revealed that The Don was instrumental in bringing Marcus to the iconic NBA organization.

Doncic himself has admitted to this already. The 26-year-old Slovenian superstar was featured in a new video on the LA Lakers’ Instagram, in which he gave this answer to a question about what he wants his legacy to be:

“The guy that brought championships to the city, for sure,” he stated with bold confidence. It’s that very confidence that has made Doncic one of the premier icons of this era. Even better, he now has some help on the floor in spots that were needed.

This is why Lakers fans should feel excited. Luka putting in the effort to recruit shows that he has a desire to not only win, but win immediately. Doncic sniffed an NBA Championship in 2024 and seems eager to get back there. And with LeBron James now in the midst of his final few seasons, he knows he has been handed the keys to the kingdom.

Smart, a three-time All-Defense first team guard, will have a player option on his new Lakers deal to enter a more flush 2026 free agency, sources said. Point of attack defender was a position of need for L.A. as well — with Luka Doncic recruiting and reaching out to Smart. https://t.co/POZfSea5sU

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 19, 2025

Along with Smart, LA signed Ayton as their new big. The former Suns big man has already expressed how excited he is to ball with Luka and LeBron. Hopefully, Smart feels the same way. How could he not? He was literally recruited by the potential new face of the NBA.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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