Every playoffs, there’s a young player who seems to break out and give a team an unexpected boost. Throughout the 2023 NBA Playoffs, Austin Reaves was that player for the Los Angeles Lakers as he turned into a star when the lights shined the most.
Despite just being in his second year, Reaves looked unfazed in his first postseason appearance and that’s got to be a huge boost to his confidence heading into the offseason.
Unlike Reaves, Max Christie was stuck watching his teammates from the bench as the rookie only appeared in blowout situations. With so many veterans in front of him, Christie was buried on the depth chart but the young wing was confident that he would’ve performed well if his name was called.
“Of course I wanted to play,” Christie said at his exit interview. “Getting meaningful minutes in any playoffs series, especially as a rookie, is something that I would’ve certainly enjoyed and I definitely think I would’ve been ready for it for sure. I put in the work every day. And to the question earlier, I was watching Lonnie, Troy, Beas how they stay ready so when they get thrust into the game they’re ready to go. And so I think I emulated that pretty well and I think I would have been ready to contribute to winning if I were in the Conference Finals or any playoff series.”
Christie wasn’t getting much run as the Lakers were making their push toward the playoffs in the second half of the season, so it wasn’t surprising to see him collect DNPs. He’s flashed an intriguing 3-and-D skillset in the limited time he has gotten at the professional level, but the playoffs is an entirely different animal.
Christie’s attitude and mindset has been beyond the years of a typical rookie and it should serve him well over the summer as he continues to grow and develop. He’s already been told by Rob Pelinka and Darvin Ham that there’s a shot for him to crack the rotation during the 2023-24 season, so it’s up to him to work hard enough to earn that opportunity.
Max Christie to play in Summer League
In order to earn a spot in Ham’s rotation next season, Christie’s got to really put in the work during the summer. However, it sounds like he understands what needs to be done and he’ll have his first opportunity to prove he belongs as he confirmed he’ll be on the Lakers’ Summer League roster.
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