Former Michigan State Star Quietly on Impressive NBA Streak
Los Angeles Lakers wing Max Christie entered the 2024-25 NBA campaign not exactly knowing what his role would be.
After all, he averaged just 14.1 minutes per game last season.
However, Christie is definitely carving out a role for the Lakers, and he may be developing into an absolutely critical role player for the club.
The former Michigan State Spartans star is registering 6.2 points and 2.4 rebounds across 20.5 minutes a night this season, and while those aren't overly impressive numbers, it's what Christie has been doing more recently that has been eye-opening.
Heading into Monday night's matchup against the Detroit Pistons, the 21-year-old had a running streak of eight straight games with a made 3-pointer.
To put that into perspective, Christie had drained triples in just seven of his first 20 contests this year, so clearly, he is getting into a bit of a groove.
Christie has also been garnering much more consistent playing time over the last few weeks, which comes after the Michigan State product had been getting sporadic minutes early on in the season.
It's good to see Christie finding the range on a relatively consistent basis. We knew at East Lansing that the 6-foot-6 swingman had elite defensive capabilities. We just weren't sure how his offensive game would translate to the NBA level.
That was why many felt that Christie — who spent one season with the Spartans in 2021-22 — should have spent another year at Michigan State before making the jump to the NBA.
It was evident that Christie was still very raw and could have used more seasoning, which was why he fell to the second round of the draft.
Heck, if he would have returned for another season with the Spartans, he may have ended up being a lottery pick in 2023.
But Christie has elected to learn on the job in the professional level, and he finally appears to be breaking through this season.
The Arlington Heights, Il. native still has a long way to go, but let's keep in mind how young he is. He has plenty of time to get better, and he seems to be doing just that.
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