All hail the hustle king. Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart is the winner of the 2023 NBA Hustle award, the league announced on Thursday. Smart also won the award in 2022 and 2019. No other player has done so more than once.
The award honors players who "make the effort plays that don't often appear in the traditional box score but impact winning on a nightly basis," as stated on the NBA's official website. The league has publicly tracked hustle stats -- charges drawn, loose balls recovered, deflections, screen assists, shots contested, box outs -- since 2016, and Patrick Beverley was the first recipient of the award at the end of the 2016-17 season. The other past winners are Amir Johnson (2018), Montrezl Harrell (2020) and Thaddeus Young (2021).
On a per-game basis, Smart ranked 10th among eligible players in charges drawn, 14th in loose balls recovered and 16th in deflections. He also ranked 31st in box outs, first among guards, and 37th in screen assists, second among guards. (He would be first among guards in screen assists if not for Jayson Tatum for some reason counting as a guard. To be eligible for this award, players must have played in at least 58 games and averaged at least 24 minutes.)
The announcement is timely, given the role that Smart played in the Celtics' 121-87 blowout victory in Game 2 of their second-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. Smart did a little bit of everything in that game -- post-ups, a reverse alley-oop, full-court pressure on defense, diving for loose balls -- and, after aggravating a chest contusion in the series opener, suffered a stinger in his right shoulder and a lip laceration when Joel Embiid fell on top of him in the third quarter.
chef's kiss 😘👌🏾 pic.twitter.com/bgug35K2uO
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) May 4, 2023
"I'm sore as shit, but I'm gonna be OK," Smart told reporters at TD Garden, via The Athletic. "You see my lip's busted, the shoulder, chest. But I pride myself on being a warrior."
Smart also said Wednesday that he plays better hurt, via NBC Sports Boston.
Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors finished in second place, followed by Aaron Nesmith of the Indiana Pacers, Mitchell Robinson of the New York Knicks and Herbert Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans.
