Exclusive: Dallas Mavs’ Kyrie Irving & Memphis Grizzlies’ Marcus Smart Reflect on Being Boston Celtics Teammates

Mavs superstar Kyrie Irving and Grizzlies guard Marcus Smart spoke with DallasBaskebtall.com about their time as Celtics teammates and the challenges of matching up against each other.

MEMPHIS — With Kyrie Irving sidelined for the Dallas Mavericks' win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday, he missed another chance to face off against his former Boston Celtics teammate Marcus Smart. The matchup was shelved because Irving is dealing with a left foot strain.

Smart and Irving, teammates from 2017 to 2019, spoke with DallasBasketball.com about their time together with the Boston Celtics, along with some thoughts on what makes them challenging to match up against when going head-to-head. 

Smart highlighted how attentive to detail Irving is about how to pick apart matchups and plays. With the level of skill Irving possesses, the preparation has for each game and situation further elevates his teammates by simplifying the game. 

"I would have to say my favorite part about being Kai's teammate is his ability to see the game and just learning from him," Smart told DallasBasketball.com. "The things he sees on the court, both offensively and when he's going against defenses. Just picking his brain with certain plays, certain matchups, how to get his shot in certain areas, and just how he can lock in and go out every night and play consistently."

Irving admired Smart's personality and leadership through adversity in terms of the basketball element of being teammates. However, he greatly appreciated the off-court aspects of Smart's dedication to helping others through his foundation and how he values personal relationships with others.

"My favorite part [of being Marcus' teammate] was his personality, his competitiveness, and his ability to lead in tough situations," Irving told DallasBasketball.com. "And also, most importantly, he has the confidence to be himself all the time. And his skills and his abilities, he does so much off the court, too. One of the big things that connected me to him is his foundation and how he loves to humanize his relationships and be a good person."

Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart as Boston Celtics teammates in 2019.  / David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

With Smart being an elite on-ball defender and Irving being a tantalizing isolation scorer, there is a lot of intrigue about how they approach head-to-head matchups against each other. The two recently faced off in the playoffs when Irving's Brooklyn Nets faced Smart's Celtics in 2022. 

When guarding Irving, Smart admires the incredible skills he displays as a creative offensive threat, describing him as a "magician" with the basketball. The way Irving creates space with the ball and manipulates the defense makes him a challenging cover to attempt to contain. 

"Kyrie is Kyrie, man. Uncle Drew, he's a magician with the ball," Smart said of Irving. "His ability to do the things he does with the ball is incredible. He creates space with that ball, and he can manipulate defenses with the ball in his hands and the dribbling he can do. And then on top of him being able to make those tough shots as well."

Smart stressed the importance of not getting frustrated with the result as long as the process is correct. There will be times when either of them faces a quality approach from the defender but still ends up converting a tough shot, just as Doncic frequently did on Monday night.

"You have to just make it as hard as you can for him and not really get upset because they're gonna make some tough shots, and that's okay," Smart said of Irving and Doncic. "You can't let it get the best of you, for sure."

Memphis Grizzlies' Marcus Smart guarding Dallas Mavs' Luka Doncic.  / Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

As far as attempting to break down Smart off the dribble, Irving highlighted the physicality that he defends by playing into the offensive player. As a defender, Irving shared Smart's approach to studying the weaknesses of his matchup and use them to his advantage. However, as an isolation scorer without weakness, much like Smart as a defender, the two elevated each other through their matchups and time together.

"We've had some tough series against each other. It makes it good for the brotherhood in terms of just being able to go at each other and leave it all on the floor," Irving said of Smart. "He taught me a lot on the defensive end and on the offensive end just when I was in Boston. It's all about tendencies and playing the people's weaknesses.

"For me, I feel like I don't have a ton of weaknesses. So when a guy like that is going against me, it's going to be really physical, and he'll try to make it as tough as he can," Irving explained. "I have to respect Marcus for raising my game to another level every time we go against each other."

The next chance for Irving and Smart to compete against each other will be Dec. 1 when the Grizzlies play at American Airlines Center. If both Irving and Smart are available to play in that matchup, it'll be a prime opportunity for basketball observers to witness offensive and defensive greatness square off, showing what makes them elite in those categories.