Marcus Smart was born on March 6, 1994, to parents Billy Frank Smart and Camellia Smart. He grew up in Flower Mound, Texas, and had a difficult childhood marred by pain and loss. Smart grew up with three brothers, but his older brother Todd Westbrook died when the Boston Celtics star was just nine years old. His mother Camellia Smart died on September 16, 2018. Smart now lives in Boston with his fiancé, Maisa Hallum.
Here’s what you need to know about Marcus Smart’s family:
1. Marcus Smart Had a Difficult Childhood in Dallas & Said He Often Felt Angry as a Teen
Smart had a difficult childhood growing up in Dallas, Texas, which he described as a war zone between duplexes in an interview with USA TODAY Sports back in 2013. Smart’s mother, Camellia Smart, and his father, Billy Frank Smart, were married for over 40 years until her death in 2018.
Billy Smart is also the biological father of Smart’s brother Michael, and Smart grew up with two other half-brothers on his mother’s side, Todd and Jeff Westbrook, who were decades older than the two Smart boys. The entire family was very close-knit, USA TODAY shared, despite the age gap between the boys. When Smart was growing up, his mother had dialysis three times a week after she shared that “a kidney stone ate up” one of her kidneys over 20 years prior.
When Smart was around 10 years old, his older brother Michael Smart began going down a dark path, he told the publication. Michael Smart was a talented basketball player in high school but by the time he turned 19, he started spending time with the Bloods street gang and was selling drugs, including crack, and pimping, his younger brother shared. Smart said he’d often try to convince his brother to leave that world and would wait up all night to make sure his older brother got home safely.
“We had plenty of nights like that,” Smart shared. “I was growing up around it. I was seeing it. I was seeing his pain. I didn’t like what he was doing, but he was still my brother and I loved him. You see that stuff on the news and play the games, and it’s like a video game. When you see it in front of you, it’s terrifying.”
The Celtics star recalled one instance when Michael Smart nearly died and was hospitalized over his cocaine use. “He should have been dead, that’s how much was in his system,” he shared with USA TODAY. He said it made his own childhood difficult and he often felt angry and lost. He recalled one turning point when he and a friend threw rocks at passersby. Unbeknownst to them, one of their targets was a gang member who ended up chasing them and shooting at them.
“All I kept thinking was, Am I going to die? Is this how I die? What is he going to do if he catches me but doesn’t shoot me?” Smart shared. He said, “I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do. From some stupid decision I decided to make, one stupid decision that I felt was good, that I felt was fun, it could have easily taken my life. That’s a lesson learned.”
The family then moved to Flower Mound, a suburb of Dallas away from the gangs and violence, and Smart began taking anger management classes. He told the publication, “Thank God I had both parents and older brothers. My mom and brothers are my heroes … If I didn’t change what I was doing, I would be dead or in jail.” At the time of his interview in 2013, Smart also revealed that his brother Michael had been working at a warehouse and stopped selling drugs.
2. Marcus Smart’s Oldest Brother Todd Westbrook, Who Was a Talented Basketball Player, Died of Cancer When Smart Was 9 Years Old
One of the tragic yet defining moments of Smart’s childhood came when his older brother, Todd Westbrook, died at the age of 33. The two Smart brothers saw Westbrook as a second father figure, he told USA TODAY and revealed that Westbrook was an amazing basketball star who could have made it in the NBA. He played in high school in the 1980s and was a star guard at Lancaster High, and Smart grew up looking up to him.
When Westbrook was 15 years old, doctors found a tumor behind his eye, the publication reported, and Camellia Smart said it felt like “someone took a knife and split my chest in two.” Westbrook never seemed fazed, however, and continued on being the older brother they looked up to, the Boston Celtics point guard shared. He learned how to shave, shake someone’s hand and more from Westbrook, and spent a lot of time with him even as his condition deteriorated and cancer spread to his lungs and stomach.
“That is what I always admire about him,” Smart shared. “That tenacity and that ambition to keep living even though you know you don’t have much time.” In fact, Smart shared a story with the Celtics podcast “The View from the Rafters” about when Westbrook was still in high school and had just learned about the tumor behind his eye.
“We checked into the hospital and he’s going to get his chemo, and he’s got this tumor behind his left eye that’s just closed his eye shut,” Smart said. It was a game day at Westbrook’s high school and he showed up to play about 20 minutes before the game. “Everybody, they’re kind of sad because he’s not going to be there, they understand what’s going on,” he shared. “And then they see him walk in and walk out with his jersey and warm-ups.”
When people asked Westbrook what he was doing, Smart said his brother replied, “If I’m going to die, and God’s going to take my life, or I’m going to leave this world, I’m going to do it my way, and I’m doing what I love to do, and that’s playing basketball. This is what makes me happy.” He said his family told him that his brother scored over 30 points with one eye closed, and the story stuck with him over the years.
Smart said, “That’s my motivation. The odds are against me but I keep fighting. I never give up because he never gave up,” he told MassLive. Westbrook died in January 2004, when he was 33 years old, after battling cancer for 18 years. Smart was nine years old at the time.
3. Marcus Smart Bought His Mother Camellia Smart a New House as Soon as He Got Drafted
Smart was always very close with his mother and once he made it to the NBA, he bought her a new house in the Dallas suburbs. The Celtics guard was drafted sixth overall in the 2014 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics and he bought his parents the house in the fall of 2014.
In November 2014, he told MassLive that he visited her home for the first time and said it was “an awesome place.” He added, “It’s incredible. I love it, so she did a good job.” According to the publication, the NBA star had promised his mother to buy her a house if he ever got drafted and it felt amazing to be able to fulfill that promise.
“I looked at my mom and she was smiling from ear to ear,” he shared. “And my dad. And I just felt proud. It’s probably one of the biggest accomplishments as a young man, is to give your mom what she always wanted. And to take care of her, especially after she takes care of you all those years. And to make her happy. It’s a blessing. I thank God every day for the opportunity to be able to do something like that.”
Although Camellia Smart continued to live in Texas, she usually traveled to see her youngest son play. He said she called him after every game that she couldn’t get to in person to give him feedback, but also to tell him she loved him, Bleacher Report wrote.
Smart’s mother was always his biggest fan and critic, he revealed. He learned to be a team player from her, and she always encouraged him to play hard. His mother was also tough, and he recalled hitting his head on a door when he was in ninth grade and bleeding profusely and Camellia Smart wanted to stitch him up on the spot.
Smart has often called himself a “Mama’s Boy,” and since his mother’s death in 2018, he has frequently shared tributes to her on Instagram.
4. Marcus Smart’s Mother Camellia Smart Died in September 2018 After Battling Bone Marrow Cancer
I love you, Mom.
In April 2018, Smart announced that his mother had been diagnosed with bone marrow cancer. At the time, he said a bone marrow transplant wasn’t a possibility, ESPN reported. Just three years prior to the diagnosis, Camellia Smart underwent a quadruple bypass surgery and continued to get her kidney dialysis three times a week, the Athletic wrote.
Smart’s mother died on September 16, 2018, and Smart told the publication that her death was peaceful. “She couldn’t feel anything in the final moments,” he shared. “It was like a dream. We just let her pass peacefully. But it was devastating for us. We had to sit there and watch that. But at the same time I’m glad that I was able to be there for her last moments, and her to see me and things like that.”
He said he felt so grateful that she was able to see that he’d made it in the NBA and was a successful athlete, and recalled being able to buy her a house and take care of her in her final years. “When I said [I would let her] rest, I didn’t know it would be eternally. But she’s in a better place and she ain’t got no more worries. So I’m happy.”
During the Celtics’ postseason run in 2022, Smart revealed that he’d dyed his hair green in honor of his mother. He shared that his mother always loved his hair and his different hairstyles and had previously told him she liked the various colors he dyed it. “She always said that she wanted to see me in green, but obviously she passed away so she never got to see me,” Smart told the NBA.
5. Marcus Smart Is Engaged To Maisa Hallum, a California Native & Entrepreneur
Smart is engaged to be married to Maisa Hallum. Although the couple is very private about their relationship, they began dating around 2017 as they were first pictured together at an event in late 2017 hosted by Smart’s foundation YounGameChangers. Hallum has since been spotted at Celtics games, but she doesn’t appear to have a social media presence.
Hallum was born and raised in California and she has a sister who became her business partner. After graduating college, Hallum and her sister launched a swimwear company called Sousa Swim, which she opened up about in an interview for Blueprint Concepts’ “Women Making Waves” podcast in April 2020. She said her parents are both entrepreneurs and they encouraged their kids to pursue their passions.
Hallum, the founder and creative director of Sousa Swim, said they were inspired by their day-to-day of growing up close to the beach in California. At the time of the interview, she said the company was in its third season. Since then, however, its Instagram page has been wiped.
Smart proposed to Hallum on December 25, 2022, and he posted a video of his unique proposal on Instagram. It showed the NBA star and his soon-to-be fiancée surrounded by their family and watching a video on their TV of Will Smith. In the video, Smith told Hallum, “I promise you, you’re not going to end this Christmas empty-handed.”
As the famous actor wrapped up his special message, which he said was filmed in Antarctica, Smart got down on one knee and surprised Hallum. She appeared so overwhelmed and surprised that she didn’t even respond at first, then nodded as Smart exclaimed, “She said yes!”
Comments
Marcus Smart’s Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know