NBA Draft 2022: What Lakers are getting in Max Christie

By John Fanta
FOX Sports College Basketball Writer

For the first time since some guy named Magic Johnson back in 1979, the Los Angeles Lakers drafted a Michigan State Spartan.

L.A. traded into the draft last Thursday, sending a future second-round pick and cash to Orlando for the No. 35 pick. They used it to select Max Christie.

Just the fourth one-and-done player in Spartans program history, Christie was thought to be a potential lottery pick in the 2023 draft had he decided to return for his sophomore season, making the 19-year-old a potentially valuable selection by Rob Pelinka and his team. That said, Christie could need a couple of years to develop, making him a curious fit for an organization that’s trying to win now and to get younger around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

There’s no question that Christie is a project, but he presents upside closer to being a first-round talent because of his 6-foot-6 size, strong shooting mechanics and capable defense. Christie is really long, presenting a 6-foot-9 wingspan and an 8-foot-7 standing reach. 

The Lakers’ front office, which was in rare complete consensus on selecting Christie, is betting that he will build up strength in his body and that the game will slow down for him. There’s a belief that Christie’s 38% mark from the field and 31% clip from 3 at Michigan State is not a true indicator of his shooting ability.

Tom Izzo on Max Christie becoming a complete player

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo talked about Max Christie’s progression as a complete player last season.

Hall of Fame Spartans coach Tom Izzo reinforced throughout this past season how great a defender Christie is and said he presented intangibles beyond his years. The Chicago kid’s efforts on the defensive end of the floor led the former McDonald’s All-American to garner All-Big Ten Freshman Team honors.

Pelinka’s mindset? He did not want to select a veteran college player who has already hit his ceiling. 

“I think the wrong thing to do in the draft is to just say, ‘We need to get this guy who can play for us right now.’ That’s when you can make big mistakes,” said the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations. “We wanted to take the player that we thought could help our team in the current, present time but really develop into something special. We think Max Christie has that DNA.”

The development of Christie comes down to one main thing: physicality. You can’t look too far into his numbers from his freshman season: 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. As one scout said, “his shooting stroke and athleticism are so smooth.” The offensive skill set is present.  

Where talent evaluators are very conflicted is his lack of physical and mental maturity.  

“I get the idea of him as a 6-foot-6 shooter with high-level feel, but the lack of physical and mental toughness could be too much for him to overcome,” said one scout who provided his anonymous opinion of Christie.  

Pelinka and the Lakers see it differently.  

“When we plug him into Darvin Ham and Chris Jent, the developmental coaches we are going to have, he is going to turn into a really good shooter,” said Pelinka. “He’s got beautiful touch on the ball, great arch and rotation on his shot. He’s a twitchy athlete with a really unique floater game, can finish around the basket and gets into the paint.” 

L.A. hopes that Christie can go through a similar developmental rise that the organization’s seen in 2019 second-round draft pick Talen Horton-Tucker, who signed a three-year, $32 million deal in the 2021 offseason.

Patience will be needed for Christie, but the potential is there for him to be a 3-and-D wing in the NBA. Expect him to be with the South Bay Lakers next season, as the organization’s development staff aims to build up his body for the NBA level.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.