21-Year-Old Shooting Guard Signs with the Lakers

Although the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the seventh seed in the Western Conference, they were quickly eliminated in five games by the Denver Nuggets. Los Angeles had a wild season, to say the least, at times they did not look like a playoff team at all, but they won the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament and came back to win in the Play-In Tournament, all led by their 39-year-old star LeBron James. The Lakers had 21-year-old shooting guard Max Christie coming off the bench, as they tried to grow the young guard’s game to become a legitimate part of the offense. Christie recorded a career-high in almost every statistical category this season, yet it was not much of a jump. Now as a free agent, he just signed a four-year deal with the Lakers to stay in Los Angeles for $32 million, including a player option.  

Christie played college ball at Michigan State University. After his freshman season, he declared for the 2022 NBA Draft. During the 2022 NBA Draft, Christie was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers as the 35th overall pick. After playing in the 2022 Summer League, he played in 41 games with the Lakers before the 21-year-old shooting guard was assigned to the Lakers G-League team, the South Bay Lakers. Two days later, Los Angeles called Christie back up and he’s been with the team ever since.

Last season in 67 games played and seven starts, Christie averaged about four points, two rebounds, and an assist in 14 minutes off the bench. All of his numbers except his three-point percentage improved from his rookie season. On January 11th, the 21-year-old shooting guard put up 14 points along with seven rebounds, and four assists during a 127-109 loss to the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers are gambling on the chance Christie will develop into a promising backup shooting guard.