Dorian Finney-Smith was a player who did not register gaudy numbers for the Los Angeles Lakers, but had his impact felt all over the floor. Lineup data and advanced metrics would constantly suggest the former Lakers forward was one of the most important players on the team last season.
The role of providing that type of spark has belonged to Marcus Smart in the early parts of the 2025-26 season. The new Lakers guard has his energy and effort showing up in ways that do not get properly measured in traditional counting stats. Smart has looked every bit of a slam dunk when it comes to Rob Pelinka's offseason additions.
Lakers' statistical data already loves Marcus Smart
Most looked to Jake LaRavia as the direct replacement of Finney-Smith this offseason. From a positional standpoint and the timing of the offseason moves, that was always going to be the comparison for a lot of people.
LaRavia, for his part, has immediately proven to be a strong addition too. However, today's conversation is designed to focus on the unseen parts and comparisons, rather than the more obvious ones.
Finney-Smith's traditional numbers with the Lakers last season were modest. The veteran forward averaged 7.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.9 steals in 28.8 minutes per game for Los Angeles, shooting 44.2 percent from the field and 39.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Where Finney-Smith's value showed up was categories like plus/minus. DFS (6.2) only trailed Luka Doncic (6.3) on last year's Lakers. Who leads that category in 2025-26 thus far? That would be Smart, with a wowing mark of 11.0, comfortably beating out Austin Reaves (6.6) for first on the team.
In 2024-25, according to the NBA's official stats, Finney-Smith led all Lakers with an offensive rating of 120.2. The two-way forward also had one of the best defensive ratings on the team, with 109.1 in that category.
Smart, similarly, is near the top of the best offensive ratings for the Lakers with 120.3 thus far. The former Defensive Player of the Year leads the defensive rating category by a healthy margin, with his 103.6 comfortably separated from the second-closest mark on the team of 108.9.
If one were to discount Jalen Hood-Schifino (who only played two games and incredibly limited minutes in those appearances), Finney-Smith led the Lakers in net rating last season with 11.1. Smart now holds that distinction with 16.7 in 2025-26 to this point.
Finney-Smith was featured in a lot of the Lakers' best lineups following the Doncic trade in February. Smart is similarly showing up in a lot of the strongest units of this year's campaign.
“Stats aren’t going to do me any justice.” Marcus Smart, who went 1-for-2 against the Wolves with 2 steals and 1 rebound, speaks about how he aims to make an impact by setting the tone. LAL outscored MIN by 24 points in the 21 minutes he played. pic.twitter.com/C5RR3ctBOV
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 25, 2025
The point here is clear, right? There are always players who help a team thrive without making it completely obvious through their traditional statistics. Smart said as much himself.
That torch has been passed for the Lakers. From Finney-Smith to Smart, Los Angeles continues to have a player who is quietly doing the little things needed for the team to thrive.