Max Christie was already having a breakout season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he’s been even better since joining the Dallas Mavericks.
Max Christie Breakout: New Mavericks Acquisition Proving His Worth
Taking Advantage Of Opportunity
While he’s only played eight games with the Dallas Mavericks, Max Christie is already making himself invaluable. The Michigan State alum is playing over 32 minutes per game, averaging 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists. And even though his defensive counting stats don’t jump off the page, no one would contest his prowess on that end of the court.
Christie quietly showed significant signs of growth with the Lakers earlier this season. Ex-head coach Darvin Ham displayed a reluctance to play the young second-round draft pick early in his career, but that all changed with the arrival of JJ Redick. Christie saw his time on the court almost double in 2024-25, going from 14 to 25 minutes per game.
What makes this all the more impressive is Christie’s response. Oftentimes, a drastic increase in responsibility for players of his age—he’s in his third year in the NBA and only 22 years old—come with a slip in production and/or efficiency. Christie didn’t just maintain, he outperformed his previous stats in virtually every single category. Here’s a tweet from Cranjis McBasketball that sums it up best:
Largest jumps in expected O-LEBRON this season compared to last season, based on skill data:
1. Paolo Banchero
2. Franz Wagner
3. LaMelo Ball
4. Karl-Anthony Towns
5. Tyler Herro
6. Nikola Jokic
7. Jordan Poole
8. Jordan Clarkson
9. Max Christie
10. Darius Garland— Cranjis McBasketball (@Tim_NBA) January 11, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
A Jack Of All Trades
So, what’s going on here? To start, Christie comes from a basketball family. Not only does he have a sibling in the Association—Cam Christie of the Los Angeles Clippers—but both parents played Division 1 college basketball. The game surrounded Max for his entire life, and you can see it in the way he plays.
Offensively and defensively, there’s nothing that makes him a liability. In other words, he doesn’t really have glaring weaknesses to exploit. Could he improve in some aspects? Absolutely. Christie’s frame and physicality were big concerns coming out of college. He’s made major strides in these areas but still needs improvement. If I’m nitpicking, he also struggles to stay in front of smaller, quicker guards due to his lack of athleticism (think Tyrese Maxey or De’Aaron Fox). That’s really where the negatives end.
I could gush about the positives of Max’s game for hours. At the end of the day, he’s exactly the type of guy you want on your team. Doesn’t need the ball to be effective, solid shooter, great footwork, relocates off screens, and never caught sleeping on defense. As a true student of the game, his fundamentals are as sound as any.
Looking Towards The Future
With this in mind, what does Christie’s ceiling look like? For me, it’s not so much his ceiling as his sky high floor. Maybe he becomes an All-NBA superstar one day, but it seems unlikely in my view due to his lack of on-ball skills. I see Christie as the awesome third or fourth option on an title contending team. He can be that steady drumbeat on either side of the ball, consistently giving you great defense while providing spacing and off-ball playmaking on offense. Every great modern NBA team needs a Max Christie. The loss of Luka Doncic still stings, but Dallas Mavericks fans can find a modicum of solace in a new franchise cornerstone.
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