Boston Celtics

Celtics’ Marcus Smart wins his 3rd NBA Hustle Award

He's the only player to win the award more than once.

Marcus Smart is now a three-time Hustle Award winner. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

By Khari A. Thompson

1 minute to read

Marcus Smart has won the NBA’s Hustle Award for the second consecutive season and third time overall, the NBA announced Thursday. He’s only player to win the award more than once.

According to NBA.com, the Hustle Award honors players who make plays that don’t show up on traditional stat sheets, such as boxing out, taking charges, and chasing down loose balls. The Hustle Stats that the award is based on have been tracked by NBA.com since 2016.

Smart beat out Golden State’s Draymond Green, Indiana’s Aaron Nesmith, New York’s Mitchell Robinson, and New Orleans’ Herbert Jones.

The last time someone other than Smart won the award was Thaddeus Young, who was with the Chicago Bulls in 2021.

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Smart scored 15 points on 7-14 shooting, including a reverse dunk on an alley-oop, during the Celtics’ blowout win against Philadelphia in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals Wednesday night.

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Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

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