Max Christie Bio
Cormac Karl “Max” Christie Jr. (born February 10, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A shooting guard listed at 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) and 190 lb (86 kg), he plays a perimeter role built around shooting, defense, and length. After one season at Michigan State, Christie entered the NBA as a second-round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 2022 and has since grown into a rotation player and starter.
Early Life and Background
Max Christie Jr. was born on February 10, 2003, in Arlington Heights, Illinois, to Max Christie Sr. and Katrina Christie. He grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where basketball was a constant presence in the household. His mother, Katrina, played college basketball at Northwestern, scoring more than 1,000 points, and later became a psychotherapist. His father, Max Sr., played college basketball at Parkland College and Wisconsin–Superior before becoming an airline pilot.
Christie has a younger brother, Cameron “Cam” Christie, who also became a basketball player and was selected 46th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2024 NBA draft after playing at Minnesota. The brothers were teammates at Rolling Meadows High School. Christie developed a lifelong interest in Japanese manga and anime, a hobby that has stayed with him into his professional career.
Path to Basketball
Christie attended Rolling Meadows High School in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, where he quickly became one of the most productive scorers in the state. As a freshman, he averaged 20 points, nine rebounds, and four assists per game, and as a sophomore he raised those numbers to 25.5 points, 10 rebounds, and 3.2 assists, scoring a career-high 51 points against Elk Grove High School. In his junior year, Christie averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds and earned Pioneer Press Player of the Year honors.
As a senior, he averaged 24 points, 10.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 3.1 steals per game, leading Rolling Meadows to a 15–0 record. He was named Chicago Sun-Times Player of the Year, News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year, and Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year, and he earned roster spots in the McDonald’s All-American Game, the Jordan Brand Classic, and the Nike Hoop Summit. Christie was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2021 class, and on July 7, 2020, he committed to Michigan State over offers from Duke, Villanova, and Ohio State. He also represented the United States at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Brazil, averaging 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds as the team won gold.
Max Christie Career
Early Career (2021–2022)
Christie played one season of college basketball at Michigan State. On January 5, 2022, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 79–67 win against Nebraska. For the year, he averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. On April 1, 2022, he declared for the 2022 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, and on May 16, 2022, he announced he would hire an agent and remain in the draft.
Los Angeles Lakers / South Bay Lakers (2022–2025)
Christie was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2022 NBA draft with the 35th overall pick and joined the team’s 2022 Summer League roster. He made his Summer League debut with five points and nine rebounds in a 100–66 California Classic win against the Miami Heat, and on July 8, 2022, he signed his rookie scale contract with the Lakers. During his rookie season, he posted a season-high 14 points on January 10, 2023, in a 122–109 loss to the Denver Nuggets, and was assigned to the South Bay Lakers of the NBA G League on March 8, 2023, before being recalled two days later. He finished the year averaging 3.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.0 assist per game.
On December 9, 2023, Christie and the Lakers won the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, later known as the NBA Cup. He tied his career high with 14 points twice that season, first against the Miami Heat on January 3, 2024, in a 110–96 loss, and then against the Phoenix Suns eight days later in a 127–109 loss. His minutes grew to 14.1 per game while his three-point percentage dipped slightly on a higher volume of attempts.
Christie re-signed with the Lakers on a four-year, $32 million deal on July 2, 2024. With new head coach JJ Redick, the two worked out together in Las Vegas ahead of the 2024–25 season. After opening the year shooting 25 percent from three in October and 31 percent in November, Christie became a starter and connected on more than 45 percent of his threes over the next eight games while averaging 10.6 points, and he continued to hit nearly 41 percent from deep while averaging 10.9 points over the following 17 games. Overall with the Lakers in 2024–25, he shot 37 percent on three-pointers in about 25 minutes per game, averaging 8.5 points, and earned high praise for his defense from LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and coach Redick. He reset his career high three times, with 15 points on December 13 against the Minnesota Timberwolves, 17 against the Detroit Pistons ten days later, and 28 against the Portland Trail Blazers on January 2, 2025.
Dallas Mavericks (2025–Present)
On February 2, 2025, Christie was traded alongside Anthony Davis and a 2029 first-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for Luka Dončić, Maxi Kleber, and Markieff Morris, with additional picks moving to and from the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles. He quickly became a regular in the Dallas rotation, lifting his scoring to 11.2 points per game while shooting 36.4 percent from three in about 30 minutes per contest. His high with the Mavericks that season was 23 points.
Driving Style and Strengths
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Notable Events and Milestones
Christie’s most notable early milestone was winning the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament with the Lakers, followed by his inclusion in the blockbuster February 2025 trade to the Dallas Mavericks. He set a career high with eight made three-pointers in a single game against the New York Knicks during the 2025–26 season, underscoring his growth as a perimeter shooter.
Max Christie Career Wins
Max Christie’s team trophy case is anchored by the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament title he won as a rookie with the Los Angeles Lakers, and a gold medal with the United States at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Brazil. He has also collected a steady run of individual awards, including Big Ten All-Freshman Team honors in 2022 and McDonald’s All-American and Nike Hoop Summit selections in 2021.
NBA Highlights
Christie’s headline NBA moment came on December 9, 2023, when the Lakers captured the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, now known as the NBA Cup. After a steady first two seasons in Los Angeles, his role expanded significantly in 2024–25, and he set new career highs in points three times before the trade. Since arriving in Dallas, he has logged four consecutive 20-point games between January 18 and 25, including the career-best eight-three-pointer outing against the Knicks.
Other Wins & Performances
Christie won gold with the United States at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Brazil, averaging 9.5 points and 3.3 rebounds across the tournament. He was also named to the McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic, and Nike Hoop Summit in 2021, three of the most prestigious pre-college showcases in the United States.
Max Christie Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Basketball runs deep in the Christie family. His mother, Katrina, played college basketball at Northwestern and scored more than 1,000 career points, later working as a psychotherapist. His father, Max Sr., played college basketball at Parkland College and Wisconsin–Superior before becoming an airline pilot. His younger brother, Cameron “Cam” Christie, played college basketball at Minnesota and was selected 46th overall by the Los Angeles Clippers in the 2024 NBA draft.
Personal Life
Christie is known as a fan of Japanese manga and anime, an interest he has kept from his youth. Public information about his personal relationships and marital status is not available in the verified sources reviewed.
2025 Season Performance
The 2024–25 season was a turning point in Christie’s career. After re-signing with the Lakers on a four-year, $32 million contract, he emerged as a starter, improved his three-point shooting to 37 percent, and averaged 8.5 points per game while earning praise for his defense from LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves, and head coach JJ Redick. On February 2, 2025, he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks as part of the deal that sent Luka Dončić to Los Angeles.
In Dallas, Christie took on a larger offensive role. Over the remainder of 2024–25, he averaged 11.2 points, shot 36.4 percent from three, and played about 30 minutes per game, with a high of 23 points. His strong finish to the season set the stage for a breakout 2025–26 campaign.
Christie opened 2025–26 by playing in every game and averaging 12.8 points while shooting 47 percent from three-point range over the first 20 games. Between January 18 and 25, he posted four straight 20-point performances, highlighted by a career-high eight made three-pointers against the New York Knicks. With a multi-year contract in place and a featured perimeter role in Dallas, Christie enters the heart of the schedule as one of the Mavericks’ key young players.
