When you stop and think about it, it makes a lot of sense.
Marcus Smart is seemingly indestructible, able to return from most in-game damage as if it hadn’t even happened.
In fact, it took one of the worst eye infections his doctors had ever seen to force the Flower Mound native to take some extended rest this season, despite a number of cascading injuries.
“In [the locker room], they actually call me Wolverine because of the way my body’s able to adapt and adjust to the injuries,” offered the Texan veteran guard in a recent interview with team reporter Amanda Pflugrad.
Smart recently returned from that eye infection against the Toronto Raptors, where he experienced sensitivity to light — an unavoidable situation on an NBA basketball court.
Marcus Smart just told me pregame that he has earned a new nickname from his teammates. They now refer to him as WOLVERINE because of his body's ability to heal and come back quickly after an injury.
— Amanda_Pflugrad (@Amanda_Pflugrad) December 31, 2019
“It wasn’t too much, actually,” he explained. “Throughout the game it eased up. I’m still a little blurry for the most part.” That blur might have had something to do with Smart’s 2-of-9 shooting against the Raptors, but from the sounds of things, he isn’t especially worried going forward.
“Each day, it gets better, actually, just depending on the day,” he added, “but it felt good to be out there [against Toronto].
Those superhuman healing powers seem to have the Oklahoma State product well on the way back to full health, and healthy enough to play against the Charlotte Hornets on New Year’s Eve.
But despite the new, injury-inspired nickname, the longest-tenured Celtic would prefer to live in the DC Universe, at least as far as aliases go.
Marcus Smart nearly lost sight from infection; plans return soon https://t.co/ZnqwAYPjaP
— The Celtics Wire (@TheCelticsWire) December 26, 2019
“So for me, my super hero, I’d want to be Superman, because of the single fact that he’s unstoppable.” While true, Smart’s logic concedes a more reasonable moniker is that which his teammates have bestowed upon him for the lightning-fast recoveries his body somehow consistently manages.
“[I can] kind of come back earlier than normal [from injury], and heal very quickly. The injuries they see are just bizarre, you should be out for a while, and they’re just sitting there like, ‘How are you healing this fast? What’s going on?’, so I’ll have to go with ‘Wolverine'”.
Given the Marvel Comics fan favorite is also known to be an unstoppable, even relentless opponent, the combination of factors makes for a truly fitting alias.
And with the Celtics down nascent star wing Jaylen Brown to a sinus infection, they could use just such an ally on the court today, too.