Prospect Overview
Lanky, fluid swingman who showed his shooting ability for stretches at Michigan State but had some ups and downs as a freshman taking some to adjust to the college game.
About Max Christie
Max Christie is a fluid athlete and capable spot up threat who had some impressive games at Michigan State but was still figuring out how to put everything together consistently for much of his freshman year. Emerging as a prospect very early on averaging 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds over 17.3 minutes per game alongside Jalen Duren, AJ Griffin, and Jabari Smith for the USA team that won the FIBA U16 Americas Championship, Christie finished his prep career at Rolling Meadows High School (IL) ranked among the consensus top-20 prospects in the high school class of 2021. Earning McDonald’s All-American honors, the 19-year-old faced significant expectations as a true freshman. Carving out a spot in the starting lineup on a veteran roster under Head Coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State, Christie finished his freshman year averaging 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.5 assists over 30.8 minutes per game to earn a spot on the All-Big Ten freshman team.
• Measured at 6’5.75 in shoes with a lean 189-pound frame and a 6’8.75 wingspan at the 2022 NBA Draft Combine, Christie has good dimensions for a shooting guard and is a very fluid athlete, but lacks a degree of strength.
• Serving primarily as a floor spacer but also looking to rise into pull-ups in the midrange off of designed actions and driving closeouts, Christie made shots steadily from the perimeter on his best nights with very promising mechanics. Running very hot for some stretches but fairly cold for others, his ability to make perimeter shots was key for him this season as it took pressure off of his ability to attack the rim. Showing good instincts as a cutter and the ability to find the open man on the move, he made some contributions around the rim and off the dribble but his lack of strength played against him as a slasher. His talent was apparent at times, but he was still evolving as an offensive threat throughout his freshman year.
• Competing defensively against some daunting individual matchups and possessing nice length and quickness, Christie held his own at times defensively but faced an uphill battle against more physical slashers. He has a nice base of tools to work with but quite a bit of natural room to improve as he gets stronger.
Advanced Stats
• Leaning heavily on his ability to make jump shots as a freshman, Christie proved to be a capable set shooter and a threat to make shots with deft touch off of one or two dribbles in the midrange. While he was able to make some opportunistic plays as a cutter and filling lanes in transition, his shooting often opened up the rest of his game.
• With almost 80% of his shots in the half court coming on jumpers split between spot up situations, flares, curls, and ball screens within the Spartans’ motion, Christie scored 1.01 points per catch and shoot jump shot [55th percentile] and 0.68 points per pull-up jump shot in the half court [34th percentile]. He shoots the ball with smooth mechanics and a high release point, but has room to improve the range on his pull-up and fought through bouts of inconsistency as a set shooter throughout his freshman year.
• Using jabs and rip-throughs to get to midrange spots, Christie is smooth with the ball but has room to improve as a ball handler and could not always hold his ground attacking the rim. Scoring 0.84 points per shot around the rim in the half court [12th percentile], but tossing in floaters with deft touch, he figures to have develop as a slasher as his frame fills out.
• Making some heady plays as a passer, Christie shows some feel for moving off the ball and finding the open man that leave some room for optimism about what kind of player he could grow into long-term.
Defensive Analysis
• Bringing nice intensity to the defensive end, Christie did a nice job using his quickness chasing shooters and his length contesting shots on the perimeter.
• Not always able to contain more physical, aggressive slashers, Christie otherwise held his own on the ball making his ability to add strength an x-factor projecting ahead.
— Profile by Synergy Sports
