Los Angeles Lakers guard Max Christie did not have the best start to the 2024-25 NBA season. In his first 10 games, he averaged 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists shooting 33.3% from the field and 29. 4% from deep. While he was averaging 13.1 minutes during that span, his efficiency wasn’t outstanding.
Fortunately for Christie, he’s gradually improved his performance on the court. The guard has averaged 10.2 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in his last 10 games. The 21-year-old guard has made 43.6% of his 3-point attempts and 45.6% of his field goals in the last ten games.
In an interview with The Athletic’s Jovan Buha on Sunday, the third-year guard revealed that he felt like he was trying too hard to start the season. He opened up about his on-court struggles and how he was able to bounce back from it.
“I think it was tough, for sure. There are a lot of things that happen in the offseason where you get re-signed, I have expectations for myself,” Christie said. “Obviously, when you get re-signed, your expectations from the organization are obviously raised too. I think it was a lot of build-up for me. I think I just tried too hard, to be honest. I think I had too much emphasis on trying to play perfectly, do all the right things, and that led to me kind of thinking all the time when I’m out there. I wasn’t flowing. I wasn’t free. I was just rigid, playing like a robot.”
Max Christie opened up about his rough start to the season and being able to bounce back.https://t.co/jZnRZ0Z7L0
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) January 2, 2025
“I think a lot of it was not really soul-searching,” he continued. “But I looked in the mirror and asked myself, ‘What could I do better as an individual player? How can I put myself in a better position to be more successful?’ And a lot of it for me was just my mental approach… I think I did a good job of making tough decisions and getting right back. Keeping the main thing, the main thing, really.”
Lakers head coach on Max Christie being in the starting lineup
Lakers head coach JJ Redick has started to trust Christie this season. In the last 10 games he played, the guard was part of the starting lineup. According to Redick, putting the 6-foot-5 guard in the starting five gives the team more “optionality” on the defensive end.
“I think Max being in the lineup gives us a little more optionality with how we want to match up with teams,” Redick said. “Within the game, not necessarily how we start matchups, but then being able to cross-match, which we did against Golden State… So, I like Max in that lineup. It gives us more optionality defensively.”
J Redick breaks down Max Christie's impact in the starting lineup and how his presence has benefited the #Lakers on both ends of the floor. pic.twitter.com/jLQcFPVWEi
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) December 28, 2024
This season, Christie has played 31 games, averaging 7.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
