Marcus Smart plays winning basketball. Listen to any NBA discourse around the Los Angeles Lakers guard and that sentiment is bound to come up eventually. His admirable playing style has yet to be crowned with the ultimate prize, though.
ESPN's First Take showed off a list of the active NBA players with the most playoff wins, but no championship under their belt. Smart was unfortunately near the top of it with his 54 wins. James Harden comfortably leads that group with 90.
Russell Westbrook (64), Jimmy Butler (63), and Paul George (53) rounded out the top-five posted by ESPN. It is worth noting, however, that a quick fact check actually pokes an immediate hole at the accurarcy of that exact group.
Mike Conley has 55 playoff wins and no title. ESPN just flat-out missed him 🤷♂️ https://t.co/WDgOrTRniB
— Svyatoslav Rovenchuk (@JJBuckets17) April 14, 2026
Mike Conley, who has 55 playoff wins, was notably omitted from the list. That would bump George out of the top-five list, but it does still leave Smart's 54 wins among the group. The Lakers would love to get their veteran guard out of that company. It just might not happen this year.
Marcus Smart stuck on playoff wins list no player wants to be a part of
Smart's tough, hard-nosed brand of basketball does not need a championship to validate its success and value. Lakers fans would quickly rush to defend their defensive ace against scrutiny given how important he has been to the team throughout this entire season.
Smart has led through example through the tenacious energy he brings to the court. The former Defensive Player of the Year has also been able to lift the Lakers up by being a vocal leader when the situation calls for it. His presence is more than welcomed, and there should be some desire to keep him around in the short-term future for a Luka Doncic-led basketball team.
Lakers fans hold no immediate love for the Boston Celtics, but they were the ones who helped Smart collect all those wins. They even got him within two of hoisting a Larry O'Brien Trophy in the 2022 NBA Finals.
The Lakers would love to finish the job here and do what the Celtics never could with Smart — win it all.
That just may have to wait until next season. With all the Lakers' injuries, they would be happy to get out of the first round against the Houston Rockets, giving Doncic and Austin Reaves a chance to return. Even then, that would set up a date with the team who unraveled their season in the second round. The Lakers would need to push through the one-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's not completely impossible, but reasonably improbable considering that even if the Lakers moved past the Rockets and got their star guards back, there would be natural rust after missing that time for both of them. They may not even be completely back at 100 percent when playing.
The Lakers could give Smart a chance to remove himself off that list in the near future. Doing it in the 2026 NBA Playoffs may be a long shot, though.
Add us as a preferred source on Google