Could Young Lakers Wing Be Headed for Breakout Fantasy Season?

Los Angeles sure hopes so.

Jan 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Jalen Hood-Schifino (0) and guard Austin Reaves (15) and forward Rui Hachimura (28) and guard Max Christie (10) forward Anthony Davis (3) and forward LeBron James (23) look on from the bench in the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Los Angeles Lakers' biggest non-LeBron James free agency move this summer was the club's decision to sign third-year shooting guard Max Christie to a fairly generous, fully guaranteed, four-season, $32 million contract as a restricted free agent.

L.A. is clearly banking on the 6-foot-6 Michigan State product to take a massive leap this season. Though he's shown flashes of being a 3-and-D role player during the season, Christie has been a fairly reticent shooter, and never played major minutes during his first two pro seasons under now-departed former head coach Darvin Ham, now a top assistant on the Milwaukee Bucks under Doc Rivers.

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Christie, still just 21, had a small rotation role during his 2022-23 rookie season, as one of the few plus defenders in L.A.'s backcourt ahead of a flurry of midseason trades for veteran help. Appearing in just 41 contests (three starts), Christie averaged 3.1 points on .415/.419/.875 shooting splits, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists, across 12.5 minutes per. He was more or less banished from Ham's lineups for the home stretch of the year and a playoff run to the Western Conference Finals. Christie averaged 3.7 minutes a night in just nine Lakers playoff games.

Last year, Christie played 67 games for Los Angeles (seven starts), averaging 4.2 points on .427/.356/.783 shooting splits, 2.1 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 14.1 minutes a night. He did not play a second in the playoffs.

In a fresh fantasy basketball preview for the league's Pacific Division teams (comprising the Lakers, L.A. Clippers, Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns), Noah Rubin of NBC Sports considers Christie to be a potential deep-draft sleeper pick for prospective owners.

"He only played a limited role off the bench in year two, but Christie was able to display some flashes of brilliance," opines Rubin, perhaps a bit generously. "The Lakers didn’t make any roster changes this offseason, and Christie may be able to carve out a role under new head coach JJ Redick. When he saw consistent minutes last season, Christie was able to provide well-rounded production. He isn’t a player to draft in standard-sized leagues, but he’s worth keeping an eye on, especially if Redick uses him more than Darvin Ham did."

In category leagues, given that Christie averaged a strong 5.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks per 36 minutes last year, he may well be worth a flier. Either way, he could be in for a major uptick in minutes this year.

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