Marcus Smart kept his promise and bought his mom a home
DALLAS – Marcus Smart kept a promise he made to his mother a long time ago when he recently purchased her a home in the north Dallas suburb of Flower Mound.
It was a monumental achievement for Smart, who the Boston Celtics chose with the No. 6 overall pick in this past June’s NBA Draft.
"It’s probably one of the biggest accomplishments as a young man to give your mom what she always wanted,’’ the 20-year old Smart said before the Celtics’ Monday morning shootaround. "And to take care of her, especially when she took care of you all those years.
"And to make her happy.’’
The home Smart purchased is two stories, with Smart saying the second story is his personal domain. He went and visited the new digs after the Celtics practiced Sunday at American Airlines Center, but the previous owners haven’t yet moved out all of their belongings.
"They still have boxes in there, so we stayed on the first floor,’’ Smart said. "We’re going to close after Thanksgiving – on the 17th (of December).’’
While Smart and his mom waits on that joyous occasion, the 6-4, 220-pound guard has to prepare for a game tonight at 7:30 when the Celtics (1-1) face the Dallas Mavericks (2-1) at AAC.
Needless to say, Smart will be well represented tonight in his only visit to Dallas this season.
"I love it when my family comes to watch me, because when I was growing up they weren’t there to watch me because they were always busy or they didn’t have time to or couldn’t afford to,’’ Smart said. "So it means a lot to me that they’re all coming out tonight.
"I’ve gotten 32 tickets now, and that’s not counting the people that actually bought their tickets.’’
The text – and ticket requests -- to Smart are still coming in.
"We actually had to cut them off,’’ he said. "They actually are going to have to buy their own tickets.’’
Smart is a folk hero in his home town, where he led Marcus to a three-year record of 115-6 and state Class 5A titles his junior and senior seasons. After two years at Oklahoma State, now teams like the Mavs have to find a way to deal with Smart’s versatile game.
"He’s an aggressive, strong, physical combo guard who can really score and really make plays, and he’s a terrific defender,’’ Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "There’s nothing that he can’t do on the basketball court.
"He’s another one of these guys that can ring three’s if you don’t find him.’’
Counting option years in 2016-’17 and ’17-’18, and a qualifying offer in ’18-‘19, Smart is in line to earn $20.9 million over his first five seasons. That’s more than enough to have his family financially set for a while.
Meanwhile, in the preseason, Smart was second in the NBA in total steals (19) and steals per game (2.38). He also used his smarts to record a defensive rating of 90.7 – points the Celtics allowed per 100 possessions while he was in the game – which was first among qualified rookies.
Smart’s tenacity on defense is legendary, as teams will have to deal with his length, strength and power for many years to come.
"He has the kind of body and physical built that looks like he’s going to be a durable guy in this league for a long time,’’ Carlisle said. "I thought they got a terrific player in him.’’
A player who is forever grateful to his mom for moving out of the tough Lancaster neighborhood he grew up in. Smart left Lancaster for Flower Mound just in time for his freshman season.
"There were some tough times, a lot of adversity, a lot of distractions,’’ Smart said of his days in Lancaster. "It just seemed like I was always getting in trouble day-in and day-out.
"It just wasn’t a good environment for me.’’
That, of course, has all changed for the better.
This story was originally published November 3, 2014 at 12:21 PM with the headline "Marcus Smart kept his promise and bought his mom a home."