The Los Angeles Lakers have as much star power as any team in the NBA. In order to realize their potential as contenders, however, Los Angeles will need to learn to rely on its supporting cast for more consistent contributions on the offensive end of the floor.
Lakers veteran Marcus Smart perhaps inadvertently touched on that point following one of his best performances of the season.
Smart finished the Lakers' 128-121 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies with 13 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, one block, and a steal. In the process, Los Angeles improved to 7-2 when Smart records at least five assists and 8-2 when he scores at least 10 points.
According to Law Murray of The Athletic, Smart spoke about how his playmaking helped the Lakers pick up a vital win and expressed his belief that playing in an on-ball role can help the team win.
“Just my ability to create for others, and my ability to create for myself,” Smart said of his performance. “But just always making the right play. I have a good IQ of the game, and allowing me to use my size and my skill set, because I can see the floor just as good as anybody out there as well. And making the right play. So for me to have the ball in my hands definitely is good for this team, and just gotta find out ways to do it within our offense.”
Whether or not he intended to, Smart acknowledged the very hurdle that the Lakers face in becoming a true contender: Finding a way to run more plays for players other than the stars.
Lakers must consistently run plays for players other than the stars
Luka Doncic, LeBron James, and Austin Reaves are three high-usage players who face their own hurdle of learning to coexist. Doncic has posted a usage rate of 35.0 or higher in six of the past seven seasons, James was at 29.1 in 2024-25 and is at 26.1 in 2025-26, and Reaves currently resides at 27.1.
With three players who dominate the ball, the Lakers typically have limited opportunities to trust others to run the offense for even brief periods of time.
For as understandable as it is for Los Angeles to encounter this issue, there are elements of fatigue and predictability that border on inevitable. That's translated to Doncic, James, and Reaves all registering as subpar defenders compared to what many believe they're capable of.
It's also limited the opportunities for players including Smart to consistently alleviate pressure from them and create an offense that can flow more freely.
Smart, for instance, has averaged as many as 6.3 assists to just 2.3 turnovers per game during his career. Jake LaRavia, meanwhile, averaged 4.2 assists per 36 minutes in 2024-25. They're averaging a combined 6.7 assists per 36 minutes in 2025-26, however, and the style they've played is a direct factor.
The Lakers clearly have their best shot at winning games when the stars are running the show, but there must also be trust in the supporting cast.
The modern NBA is about depth as much as it is star power. The Lakers may not be able to build the deepest rotation in the Association over night, but they can establish key elements of their culture by empowering their current players to maximize their value.
Smart's strong showing against the Grizzlies is a promising start, but the Lakers must commit to embracing the full scope of the depth chart to truly contend.