The Los Angeles Lakers selected Max Christie with their second-round pick in Thursday’s NBA Draft and Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green had a bold prediction for his future.
Green and Christie have a few things in common. They both went to Michigan State and were selected with the 35th overall pick in the draft. Green believes that’s a good omen for Christie.
“Another 35th pick from Michigan State. History says he’s going to be an All-Star,” Green tweeted shortly after the pick.
Another 35th pick from Michigan State. History says he’s going to be an All-Star 🤷🏿♂️
The Lakers will hope that their second-round pick pans out to be a player of Green’s caliber, considering he’s been selected as an All-Star four times and is a fixture on the NBA All-Defensive Team with seven total selections and a DPOY trophy on his shelf.
Bleacher Report listed Christie’s pro comp as Jeremy Lamb and beleive he can continue to build on some strong fundamentals.
“Though Christie struggled to make shots, high school and FIBA tape—plus a believable stroke—have teams willing to buy his long-term shooting development,” B/R wrote. “At 6-foot-4, he’s a fundamentally sound wing who can hit jumpers off spot-ups, screens and pull-ups.”
Christie was a five-star prospect coming out of high school but had trouble finding his stroke with the Spartans. He averaged 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists and shot just 38.2% from the field.
Max Christie Was Lakers Unanimous Choice
The Lakers have a similar belief to Green when it comes to Christie, with everyone in the building agreeing he was the right choice with their lone pick in the draft.
“It’s very rare to have a consensus pick, maybe at No. 1 you can get a room full of scouts and have a consensus pick but once you get to 35 there’s just so many varying opinions,” Lakers GM Rob Pelinka said after the draft. “But very uniquely on this night, it doesn’t happen all the time, but Max was a consensus pick of all the scouts and all the front office people. It was someone we really identified and targeted as a group of people as we were trying to get into the second round knowing that was realistic.”
Christie will have some great mentors as he puts on the purple and gold. The rookie will be getting tips from LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook as LA looks to get back on track after a disappointing year.
Warriors Move Up to Add Ryan Rollins
The Warriors added a few new names of their own on draft night, selecting Patrick Baldwin Jr. in the first round and moving up a few picks to select Toledo’s Ryan Rollins at No. 44 in the second round.
Baldwin is a bit of a gamble out of Milwaukee but has some upside with proper development. He played just 11 games during his short college career, averaging 12.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Rollins is a 6-foot-4 guard with a 6-foot-10 wingspan. He was named the MAC Freshman of the Year in 2021 and was a first-team all-conference pick in 2022. He averaged 16.4 points over his two years with the Rockets, shooting over 45% from the field and adding 5.6 rebounds per game.
The Warriors also added Gui Santos out of the Brazillian Basketball League with the No. 55 overall pick.
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Warriors Star Draymond Green Sounds Off on Lakers Draft Pick