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In Max Christie, Lakers make a big bet on development: ‘All the tools are there’
Max Christie had been on the Lakers’ radar since 2019.
That summer, a 16-year-old Christie burst onto the national scene, earning a gold medal with the U16 team at the FIBA Americas and shining at Stephen Curry’s SC30 Select Camp in Oakland, Calif.
The Lakers’ scouting department, which has been one of the best in the league over the past decade, values a prospect’s pedigree. And Christie’s pedigree is notable: He was a five-star recruit who was the No. 3-ranked shooting guard in his class. He attended Michigan State, one of the top basketball programs in the country with a legendary coach in Tom Izzo. And despite ordinary averages as a freshman, his tantalizing potential as a 3-and-D prospect was enough to garner him draft interest and allow him to become a one-and-done.
Lakers assistant general manager and co-owner Jesse Buss, who leads the organization’s scouting department, first remembers Christie from the SC30 Select Camp, where he was one of the standout performers among a group that included future top-five picks Chet Holmgren, Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs.
“Just him showing flashes of being a good perimeter shooter with his shooting mechanics and being able to create his own shot off the dribble,” Buss told The Athletic of Christie’s skill set. “A high-IQ player, obviously, with his size and his length, at the two guard position.”
When the Lakers were on the clock after acquiring the No. 35 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Christie was several spots higher than anyone else remaining on their draft board. Even though they didn’t work him out, they were more than comfortable selecting him after reviewing his film, watching him in person multiple times and interviewing him at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.
“To be able to get a player of his caliber at the 35th pick, we feel really good about it,” Buss said.
The Lakers, especially in the later parts of drafts, have tended to draft older, NBA-ready perimeter players like Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson. But similar to Talen Horton-Tucker, who was 18 when the Lakers acquired him in a draft-day trade with the No. 46 pick in the 2019 draft, the Lakers are taking a long-term view with Christie, who won’t turn 20 until February.
Christie’s rawness showed itself in his offensive struggles during his eight summer-league games (7.4 points per game on 27.3 percent shooting). That level of shooting would make him an offensive liability in the NBA. Nonetheless, the Lakers are committed to developing Christie, signing him to a fully guaranteed two-year, $2.74 million deal in early July.
A thought exercise that members of the Lakers’ scouting department will sometimes ask one another while evaluating prospects is: If this player returns to college, where would they go in next season’s draft?
The Lakers deemed Christie a likely lottery pick in 2023 with improved shooting and a sturdier frame. To get that level of potential in the second round was an easy decision for them, even if it might not unfold for a few years.
“He’s just a guy that we think can develop into a pretty good NBA player,” Buss said.
The biggest unknown with Christie’s game is his shot. As a high school prospect, he profiled as an elite sharpshooter, one who could burn defenses on and off the ball with impressive movement and footwork.
But that hasn’t materialized with the Lakers yet. When asked to assess his performance in summer league, Christie was direct about his shooting struggles.
“The one thing that’s obviously sticking out is I’m just not making 3-pointers or jump shots right now,” Christie said.
Christie made just 20 percent of his 3.1 3-point attempts per game. Factor in his 31.7 percent 3-point shooting during his freshman season at Michigan State, and the recent sample size of Christie shooting outside of high school is concerning.
But Christie maintains his confidence has been undeterred.
“I’m just not really worried about it,” Christie said. “I know I’m a good 3-point shooter. I think that’ll come with time. That’s probably my biggest strength. It’s just not happening right now.”
Christie admits there’s a mental component to his struggles. He’s been overthinking things on the floor, trying too hard instead of letting the game flow naturally.
“I think it’s mental pretty much at this point,” Christie said. “I think every time I catch the ball, I’m really focusing on making the shot because I’m trying so hard. That’s why I miss those all the time. I think it’ll take time just mentally decompressing when I get the ball and knowing I can knock the shot down.
“So, it’ll come in the more games I play. I think it’ll get better. And, again, it’s just summer league. I’m just getting my feet wet. I’m not worried about how I shoot suddenly.”
The Lakers want Christie to play more confidently offensively, letting it fly if he’s open and making quick, decisive decisions when the ball is swung to him. He tends to dip the ball slightly when he catches, allowing his defender an extra half-second to close out and contest his catch-and-shoot jumpers.
Here’s an example: Christie is spacing on the wing and wisely moves up a few feet to create a better passing angle. His hands are ready, but because of the dip, his defender is able to recover and block his shot. That’s something that’ll happen more at the NBA level if Christie doesn’t quicken his shooting motion.
Christie isn’t just a catch-and-shoot threat, though. He has the skills of a combo guard, flashing a crafty ballhandling ability in the pick-and-roll during summer league. He doesn’t have top-notch speed or explosion, but he’s shifty and uses his size and length to his advantage on drives.
He also has preternatural dexterity. Christie, whose most effective finishing tool is his floater, scored with his left hand multiple times in games, as he does in the clip below.
Ultimately, Christie’s NBA success will be determined by how his shot progresses. It’s a theoretical strength at this point. Both he and the Lakers are remaining patient with the adjustment process.
“I think (shooting is) one of the things in the NBA that comes a little bit later,” said Jordan Ott, Lakers assistant coach and head coach of the Las Vegas Summer League team. “The (3-point) line moves. We know what he shot in college. Coach (Tom) Izzo believes in his shooting. Obviously, we believe in the shooting. He’ll get there.”
Until then, Christie is finding other ways to make himself effective — particularly on the defensive end.
While Christie’s shot has been underwhelming, he’s exceeded expectations as a defender. Ott assigned him the top perimeter ballhandler and/or scorer in each summer-league game, as the Lakers believe Christie’s defense will be his first skill to translate at the league level.
“He’s just putting in so much effort defensively, and that’s what we need,” Ott said. “We need him to start on the defensive side. The offensive side, it’ll come.”
Christie’s measurements — 6-foot-5 3/4 with shoes with a 6-foot-9 wingspan — are above average for the shooting guard position. More importantly, he knows how to leverage his length. His arms are always up and wide, ready to contest a shot or disrupt a pass.
Christie has held his own in isolation situations, navigating pick-and-rolls as a point-of-attack pest and chasing shooters off pindowns and around the perimeter.
“I think the biggest thing is just, that even when my shots are going down, I want to make sure I can impact the game,” Christie said. “And that’s the one way I can, even if my shot’s not going down. And so when I’m not making shots, I want to find a way to really get into the game still.
“Defensively, that’s where I can really impose my will. And I think I’ve done a pretty good job of just containing, contesting shots, rebounding, things like that. So controlling the things I can control. Defense is one of them, and other than that, just keep playing the right way.”
Keegan Murray, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 draft and the summer-league MVP in Las Vegas, shot 0-for-5 when Christie was the closest defender. In all other scenarios, he made 9 of 11.
Watch as Christie chases Murray through not one but two pindowns, avoiding getting screened, recovering into the fray with his hand up and contesting Murray’s pull-up elbow jumper. This is as good as one can reasonably defend this type of action.
“Incredible defender,” Ott said. “Max is a tough kid. We’re giving him the best matchup (each game).”
Christie isn’t afraid to mix it up in the paint. In the below clip, he blows up an alley-oop by reading the timing of the action and rotating over to protect the rim.
“A sneaky, good athlete,” Buss said. “He was one of the best wing players vertically at the combine. Which, I think, (surprises) a lot of people from watching his game, because he’s pretty smooth and he’s not gonna really impose his athleticism all the time. But it’s there. You wouldn’t know it until you look at the numbers really.”
Christie’s point-of-attack defense in pick-and-rolls impressed the Lakers’ coaching staff and front office. He uses his slender frame to slither around screens and his length to recover and contest shots from behind.
New head coach Darvin Ham is implementing some of Mike Budenholzer’s defensive coverages from Milwaukee, including the Bucks’ conservative drop coverage. That requires Christie to often operate against two players on an island.
“We play a drop in center-field coverage, so our big is back,” Ott said. “So in most pick-and-rolls, he has to fight basically by himself. He’s incredibly gifted laterally defensively.”
It’s an adjustment Christie is still getting used to, as his bigs played up to the level of the screen and/or hard-hedged at Michigan State.
“You still gotta get through the screen on both levels, for sure,” Christie said. “But definitely, the coverage is the biggest difference. At Michigan State, we’d always be up hard hedging. This time, we’re dropping back. So it’s just a little bit different. I guess when you’re in drop, you’ve got to really rearview contest and get back in front. But that’s how the NBA games are played. So you gotta adjust. I think I’m doing a pretty good job of fighting over screens and I’m getting back.”
Christie has also imposed his will as a rebounder, averaging 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 offensive rebounds. In the California Classic, he finished third in overall rebounding (7.7) and sixth in offensive rebounding (2.0).
He has a knack for reading the opportune moment to crash and slipping past defenders to collect caroming shots.
The Lakers needed more active rebounding from their guards and wings last season, an area Christie can likely help if given an opportunity. He was a double-digit rebounder in three of his four high school seasons. He didn’t show it as much at Michigan State, but he believes he’ll be able to do more with the Lakers.
“I think Michigan State really helped me with that, actually, the rebounding aspect,” Christie said. “I may not have gotten too many rebounds at Michigan State, but in these games, it’s just a little bit different. It’s wider space, it’s a bigger floor, more opportunities to find seams to get the rebound. So, I think that’s something that’s culminated over time, and now I can show it right here.”
When Christie met with Lakers general manager and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, basketball adviser Kurt Rambis, Jesse Buss and VP of research and development and co-owner Joey Buss at the combine, the group was blown away by Christie’s mature demeanor.
“He was probably our top interview in terms of how comfortable we were with him and his answers,” Jesse Buss said. “He’s a very high-character guy.”
“I think, for the most part, I was just being myself,” Christie said. “I was just not trying to be something that I wasn’t in the interview. Asking questions, trying to gain as much knowledge as I could. Just being really relaxed. Not being uptight, too tense, because I felt like I belonged there. I think that’s probably what stood out to them.”
Christie’s offensive play gradually improved throughout the summer, scoring eight-plus points in four of the five games in Vegas, though he still struggled to shoot efficiently (28.6 percent in Vegas). He said he began to feel more like himself as he got more reps on this stage.
The Lakers have earned the benefit of the doubt regarding Christie panning out because of their recent draft history.
Christie follows a growing list of successful Lakers draft picks and undrafted free agents — albeit to varying degrees — over the past eight years: Julius Randle, Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, Lonzo Ball, Kuzma, Hart, Alex Caruso, Thomas Bryant, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Horton-Tucker and Austin Reaves. (The only real miss is Anthony Brown.)
It’s easy to envision Christie joining that group when speaking with him. Christie, who planned on majoring in communications at Michigan State, exudes a rare level of poise and perspective for a teenager. His answers have a depth and nuance that belie his baby face. His struggles haven’t affected his self-assured approach.
“I’m living my dream, to be honest,” Christie said. “I’m trying to enjoy every moment. I’m not trying to get too high, too low. Even when we play these games, like not making shots, I’m still living my dream playing the game I love. So, I’m just enjoying every moment.”
The good news, for the Lakers and Christie, is that they don’t need much from him this upcoming season. Expectations are modest for a 19-year-old second-round pick. Anything he provides is relative gravy. After signing free agents Lonnie Walker IV and Troy Brown Jr., there aren’t many perimeter minutes available anyway.
Christie’s skill set — the multipositional defense, the rebounding, the secondary ballhandling and playmaking and, eventually, the shooting — is the present and future for role-playing wings. Christie, whose favorite player growing up was Kevin Durant, so much so that he tried to model his game after the two-time NBA Finals MVP, has even higher ambitions than that.
Within a few years, he should be stronger and his shot more accurate. Barring his inclusion in a trade, which is always a possibility with young Lakers talent, Christie should be a vital part of the next era of Lakers basketball.
“I think all the tools are there,” Buss said. “The talent is definitely there, and I think it’s going to come for him. I think just getting adjusted to the next level is going to be a step in progression for him. And it’s going to be a challenge.
“But we believe he’s the type of guy that’s going to put in the work and that’s going to do all the right things to keep progressing as a player in this league.”
Max Christie had been on the Lakers’ radar since 2019.
That summer, a 16-year-old Christie burst onto the national scene, earning a gold medal with the U16 team at the FIBA Americas and shining at Stephen Curry’s SC30 Select Camp in Oakland, Calif.
The Lakers’ scouting department, which has been one of the best in the league over the past decade, values a prospect’s pedigree. And Christie’s pedigree is notable: He was a five-star recruit who was the No. 3-ranked shooting guard in his class. He attended Michigan State, one of the top basketball programs in the country with a legendary coach in Tom Izzo. And despite ordinary averages as a freshman, his tantalizing potential as a 3-and-D prospect was enough to garner him draft interest and allow him to become a one-and-done.
Lakers assistant general manager and co-owner Jesse Buss, who leads the organization’s scouting department, first remembers Christie from the SC30 Select Camp, where he was one of the standout performers among a group that included future top-five picks Chet Holmgren, Jalen Green and Jalen Suggs.
“Just him showing flashes of being a good perimeter shooter with his shooting mechanics and being able to create his own shot off the dribble,” Buss told The Athletic of Christie’s skill set. “A high-IQ player, obviously, with his size and his length, at the two guard position.”
When the Lakers were on the clock after acquiring the No. 35 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Christie was several spots higher than anyone else remaining on their draft board. Even though they didn’t work him out, they were more than comfortable selecting him after reviewing his film, watching him in person multiple times and interviewing him at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.
“To be able to get a player of his caliber at the 35th pick, we feel really good about it,” Buss said.
The Lakers, especially in the later parts of drafts, have tended to draft older, NBA-ready perimeter players like Kyle Kuzma, Josh Hart and Jordan Clarkson. But similar to Talen Horton-Tucker, who was 18 when the Lakers acquired him in a draft-day trade with the No. 46 pick in the 2019 draft, the Lakers are taking a long-term view with Christie, who won’t turn 20 until February.
Christie’s rawness showed itself in his offensive struggles during his eight summer-league games (7.4 points per game on 27.3 percent shooting). That level of shooting would make him an offensive liability in the NBA. Nonetheless, the Lakers are committed to developing Christie, signing him to a fully guaranteed two-year, $2.74 million deal in early July.
A thought exercise that members of the Lakers’ scouting department will sometimes ask one another while evaluating prospects is: If this player returns to college, where would they go in next season’s draft?
The Lakers deemed Christie a likely lottery pick in 2023 with improved shooting and a sturdier frame. To get that level of potential in the second round was an easy decision for them, even if it might not unfold for a few years.
“He’s just a guy that we think can develop into a pretty good NBA player,” Buss said.
The biggest unknown with Christie’s game is his shot. As a high school prospect, he profiled as an elite sharpshooter, one who could burn defenses on and off the ball with impressive movement and footwork.
But that hasn’t materialized with the Lakers yet. When asked to assess his performance in summer league, Christie was direct about his shooting struggles.
“The one thing that’s obviously sticking out is I’m just not making 3-pointers or jump shots right now,” Christie said.
Christie made just 20 percent of his 3.1 3-point attempts per game. Factor in his 31.7 percent 3-point shooting during his freshman season at Michigan State, and the recent sample size of Christie shooting outside of high school is concerning.
But Christie maintains his confidence has been undeterred.
“I’m just not really worried about it,” Christie said. “I know I’m a good 3-point shooter. I think that’ll come with time. That’s probably my biggest strength. It’s just not happening right now.”
Christie admits there’s a mental component to his struggles. He’s been overthinking things on the floor, trying too hard instead of letting the game flow naturally.
“I think it’s mental pretty much at this point,” Christie said. “I think every time I catch the ball, I’m really focusing on making the shot because I’m trying so hard. That’s why I miss those all the time. I think it’ll take time just mentally decompressing when I get the ball and knowing I can knock the shot down.
“So, it’ll come in the more games I play. I think it’ll get better. And, again, it’s just summer league. I’m just getting my feet wet. I’m not worried about how I shoot suddenly.”
The Lakers want Christie to play more confidently offensively, letting it fly if he’s open and making quick, decisive decisions when the ball is swung to him. He tends to dip the ball slightly when he catches, allowing his defender an extra half-second to close out and contest his catch-and-shoot jumpers.
Here’s an example: Christie is spacing on the wing and wisely moves up a few feet to create a better passing angle. His hands are ready, but because of the dip, his defender is able to recover and block his shot. That’s something that’ll happen more at the NBA level if Christie doesn’t quicken his shooting motion.
Christie isn’t just a catch-and-shoot threat, though. He has the skills of a combo guard, flashing a crafty ballhandling ability in the pick-and-roll during summer league. He doesn’t have top-notch speed or explosion, but he’s shifty and uses his size and length to his advantage on drives.
He also has preternatural dexterity. Christie, whose most effective finishing tool is his floater, scored with his left hand multiple times in games, as he does in the clip below.
Ultimately, Christie’s NBA success will be determined by how his shot progresses. It’s a theoretical strength at this point. Both he and the Lakers are remaining patient with the adjustment process.
“I think (shooting is) one of the things in the NBA that comes a little bit later,” said Jordan Ott, Lakers assistant coach and head coach of the Las Vegas Summer League team. “The (3-point) line moves. We know what he shot in college. Coach (Tom) Izzo believes in his shooting. Obviously, we believe in the shooting. He’ll get there.”
Until then, Christie is finding other ways to make himself effective — particularly on the defensive end.
While Christie’s shot has been underwhelming, he’s exceeded expectations as a defender. Ott assigned him the top perimeter ballhandler and/or scorer in each summer-league game, as the Lakers believe Christie’s defense will be his first skill to translate at the league level.
“He’s just putting in so much effort defensively, and that’s what we need,” Ott said. “We need him to start on the defensive side. The offensive side, it’ll come.”
Christie’s measurements — 6-foot-5 3/4 with shoes with a 6-foot-9 wingspan — are above average for the shooting guard position. More importantly, he knows how to leverage his length. His arms are always up and wide, ready to contest a shot or disrupt a pass.
Christie has held his own in isolation situations, navigating pick-and-rolls as a point-of-attack pest and chasing shooters off pindowns and around the perimeter.
“I think the biggest thing is just, that even when my shots are going down, I want to make sure I can impact the game,” Christie said. “And that’s the one way I can, even if my shot’s not going down. And so when I’m not making shots, I want to find a way to really get into the game still.
“Defensively, that’s where I can really impose my will. And I think I’ve done a pretty good job of just containing, contesting shots, rebounding, things like that. So controlling the things I can control. Defense is one of them, and other than that, just keep playing the right way.”
Keegan Murray, the No. 4 pick in the 2022 draft and the summer-league MVP in Las Vegas, shot 0-for-5 when Christie was the closest defender. In all other scenarios, he made 9 of 11.
Watch as Christie chases Murray through not one but two pindowns, avoiding getting screened, recovering into the fray with his hand up and contesting Murray’s pull-up elbow jumper. This is as good as one can reasonably defend this type of action.
“Incredible defender,” Ott said. “Max is a tough kid. We’re giving him the best matchup (each game).”
Christie isn’t afraid to mix it up in the paint. In the below clip, he blows up an alley-oop by reading the timing of the action and rotating over to protect the rim.
“A sneaky, good athlete,” Buss said. “He was one of the best wing players vertically at the combine. Which, I think, (surprises) a lot of people from watching his game, because he’s pretty smooth and he’s not gonna really impose his athleticism all the time. But it’s there. You wouldn’t know it until you look at the numbers really.”
Christie’s point-of-attack defense in pick-and-rolls impressed the Lakers’ coaching staff and front office. He uses his slender frame to slither around screens and his length to recover and contest shots from behind.
New head coach Darvin Ham is implementing some of Mike Budenholzer’s defensive coverages from Milwaukee, including the Bucks’ conservative drop coverage. That requires Christie to often operate against two players on an island.
“We play a drop in center-field coverage, so our big is back,” Ott said. “So in most pick-and-rolls, he has to fight basically by himself. He’s incredibly gifted laterally defensively.”
It’s an adjustment Christie is still getting used to, as his bigs played up to the level of the screen and/or hard-hedged at Michigan State.
“You still gotta get through the screen on both levels, for sure,” Christie said. “But definitely, the coverage is the biggest difference. At Michigan State, we’d always be up hard hedging. This time, we’re dropping back. So it’s just a little bit different. I guess when you’re in drop, you’ve got to really rearview contest and get back in front. But that’s how the NBA games are played. So you gotta adjust. I think I’m doing a pretty good job of fighting over screens and I’m getting back.”
Christie has also imposed his will as a rebounder, averaging 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 offensive rebounds. In the California Classic, he finished third in overall rebounding (7.7) and sixth in offensive rebounding (2.0).
He has a knack for reading the opportune moment to crash and slipping past defenders to collect caroming shots.
The Lakers needed more active rebounding from their guards and wings last season, an area Christie can likely help if given an opportunity. He was a double-digit rebounder in three of his four high school seasons. He didn’t show it as much at Michigan State, but he believes he’ll be able to do more with the Lakers.
“I think Michigan State really helped me with that, actually, the rebounding aspect,” Christie said. “I may not have gotten too many rebounds at Michigan State, but in these games, it’s just a little bit different. It’s wider space, it’s a bigger floor, more opportunities to find seams to get the rebound. So, I think that’s something that’s culminated over time, and now I can show it right here.”
When Christie met with Lakers general manager and vice president of basketball operations Rob Pelinka, basketball adviser Kurt Rambis, Jesse Buss and VP of research and development and co-owner Joey Buss at the combine, the group was blown away by Christie’s mature demeanor.
“He was probably our top interview in terms of how comfortable we were with him and his answers,” Jesse Buss said. “He’s a very high-character guy.”
“I think, for the most part, I was just being myself,” Christie said. “I was just not trying to be something that I wasn’t in the interview. Asking questions, trying to gain as much knowledge as I could. Just being really relaxed. Not being uptight, too tense, because I felt like I belonged there. I think that’s probably what stood out to them.”
Christie’s offensive play gradually improved throughout the summer, scoring eight-plus points in four of the five games in Vegas, though he still struggled to shoot efficiently (28.6 percent in Vegas). He said he began to feel more like himself as he got more reps on this stage.
The Lakers have earned the benefit of the doubt regarding Christie panning out because of their recent draft history.
Christie follows a growing list of successful Lakers draft picks and undrafted free agents — albeit to varying degrees — over the past eight years: Julius Randle, Clarkson, D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., Brandon Ingram, Ivica Zubac, Lonzo Ball, Kuzma, Hart, Alex Caruso, Thomas Bryant, Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Horton-Tucker and Austin Reaves. (The only real miss is Anthony Brown.)
It’s easy to envision Christie joining that group when speaking with him. Christie, who planned on majoring in communications at Michigan State, exudes a rare level of poise and perspective for a teenager. His answers have a depth and nuance that belie his baby face. His struggles haven’t affected his self-assured approach.
“I’m living my dream, to be honest,” Christie said. “I’m trying to enjoy every moment. I’m not trying to get too high, too low. Even when we play these games, like not making shots, I’m still living my dream playing the game I love. So, I’m just enjoying every moment.”
The good news, for the Lakers and Christie, is that they don’t need much from him this upcoming season. Expectations are modest for a 19-year-old second-round pick. Anything he provides is relative gravy. After signing free agents Lonnie Walker IV and Troy Brown Jr., there aren’t many perimeter minutes available anyway.
Christie’s skill set — the multipositional defense, the rebounding, the secondary ballhandling and playmaking and, eventually, the shooting — is the present and future for role-playing wings. Christie, whose favorite player growing up was Kevin Durant, so much so that he tried to model his game after the two-time NBA Finals MVP, has even higher ambitions than that.
Within a few years, he should be stronger and his shot more accurate. Barring his inclusion in a trade, which is always a possibility with young Lakers talent, Christie should be a vital part of the next era of Lakers basketball.
“I think all the tools are there,” Buss said. “The talent is definitely there, and I think it’s going to come for him. I think just getting adjusted to the next level is going to be a step in progression for him. And it’s going to be a challenge.
“But we believe he’s the type of guy that’s going to put in the work and that’s going to do all the right things to keep progressing as a player in this league.”
