Entering the 2024-25 season, the Los Angeles Lakers were expecting big things from Max Christie.
The Lakers re-signed Christie to a four-year, $32 million in the offseason which was a sign of their confidence he could be a rotation piece for head coach JJ Redick.
However, Christie struggled in a bigger role to begin the season and was relegated to the bench. However, Redick named him a starter against the Memphis Grizzlies and he responded with a strong effort on the defensive end.
Christie revealed Redick told him right before the game he would start and later explained he’s looking forward to continue growing as a player while in the starting lineup.
“It feels good and it’s pretty cool just to see the progression and the growth in terms of just me over the last three years, to be honest,” Christie said. “I think I’ve slowly gotten a little bit better, being put in more intense situations, more important situations and I think these are good experiences for me guarding a dynamic player like Ja at the end of the game. I think it’s cool for me just to kind of reflect on the growth that I’ve had. I want to keep that going.”
Christie also acknowledged that being thrown into the proverbial fire as helped accelerate his growth as a player.
“I think just kind of being in the fire, to be honest, is how I’ve grown I think. I think in previous years, I haven’t been on a lot of high pressure, high stake situations. This year I’ve had a few of those. OKC, I obviously made a big mistake in that one, but I think that’s a good lesson for me. It’s trial by fire, right? So you get thrown in the fire, you make a mistake, you learn from it and like you said, a week later in Atlanta I come up with the big block.
“Tonight, I’m in for most of the game guarding a really good player. So it’s kind of just the growth of just being in the fire, failing a lot, and then you gotta fail before you succeed. So kind of just staying the course, one foot in front of the other when you make mistakes and just kind of learning and doing the best I can.”
Christie’s one of the few true 3-and-D-style wings on the roster and thus will be leaned on to pick up the toughest defensive assignments. It’s a lot to ask from the 21-year-old, but Los Angeles and Redick don’t have much of a choice.
JJ Redick explains decision to move Max Christie into starting lineup
JJ Redick explained he chose Max Christie to start over Gabe Vincent because of his size and athleticism. However, Redick also outlined the other qualities he would like to see in his ideal fifth starter for the Lakers.
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