Max Christie doesn’t lose confidence after tough shooting against the Suns

The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping Max Christie will become an integral part of their roster for the 2024-25 season after re-signing him in free agency.

Christie agreed to return on a four-year, $32 million deal and has a clear path minutes after Taurean Prince signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. Christie showed off his 3-and-D skills last year and appears to be getting more and more comfortable as the 2024-25 season approaches.

After a strong first preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Christie came back down to earth when he struggled to shoot the basketball in Sunday night’s loss to the Phoenix Suns. In 29 minutes off the bench, the 21-year-old scored 12 points on just 3 of 14 shots, along with three rebounds, one assist and one steal.

However, he doesn’t put himself down too much and talks about how he stays confident in his game. “I think I’ve made a lot of good progress with my game overall, but I also think my confidence, my approach and my mentality coming into the game has become a lot better mentally,” Christie said.

“I think tonight I shot 3 of 14, yeah, but I took the lead by 14 shots. I think I was pretty aggressive, I looked pretty confident out there and felt pretty confident out there. I thought all my mistakes were pretty good mistakes. Did I take some questionable shots? Secure. But I think for me, just being aggressive is a pretty good step in the right direction for me and my game. Eventually I’ll implement these at a consistent pace, so that’s been good.”

Christie came off the bench with the first five players and mentioned what he believes his role is when he comes into games.

“I thought it was good, I was first off the bench. I was just trying to bring energy. I think I repeated that a little bit: I’m just trying to get the energy off the bench and do the little things. I think we were able to finish well, especially in the first half. So it was good to be out early.”

While head coach JJ Redick’s starting lineup is set, Christie is expected to see consistent playing time for the first time in his career and it will be interesting to see if he can capitalize on his opportunities.

JJ Redick says Max Christie will be very valuable to the Lakers

JJ Redick has praised his young team of players and believes Max Christie in particular will be very valuable to the Lakers in the coming season and beyond.

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