Young Max Christie was coming. He was getting a groove on with the Los Angeles Lakers, starting alongside big names like LeBron James and Anthony Davis and another young stud in Austin Reaves. He was posting career-highs across the board for the Purple and Gold: 8.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.5 blocks.
Christie was figuring things out. He was getting more and more confident, and he was beginning to complement his already stout defense with an evolving offense. He was knocking down open threes. He was attacking closeouts. He did all that while being a pest on the other end, regularly tasked to shadow perimeter supernovas like Steph Curry and Kyrie Irving.
Then, just like that, he wasn’t a Laker. He and Davis headlined a blockbuster deal with the Dallas Mavericks where the Purple and Gold got Luka Doncic in return.
But, from the looks of it, the shocking trade may have accelerated Christie’s development even more.
In nine games with the Mavs as of this writing, Christie has been averaging 14.7 points, 4.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.6 block—all better than his Lakers numbers. He is also shooting 44.2% from downtown with the Mavs (compared to 36.8% with the Lakers) and 47.4% overall (it was at 44.4% with the Purple and Gold).
That’s great production already for a third-year guard who averaged just 3.1 points as rookie on 12.5 minutes a game. And he’s still just 22 years old! In other words, expect more from Christie as his game evolves even more, this time under the watchful eye of Jason Kidd and with the help of Kyrie Irving and Davis.
