Michigan State shooting guard Max Christie is participating in the 2022 NBA Combine.
Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic revealed the the official list of participants on Tuesday night:
2022 NBA Draft Combine (May 16-22) participants revealed: pic.twitter.com/BG3rxOE0sE
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 11, 2022
The NBA Combine takes place in Chicago from May 16 through May 22, and will give Christie and the other participants the chance to impress NBA scouts, coaches and personnel decision-makers. For Christie, his performance and feedback at the event will likely determine his final decision about returning to school or remaining in the NBA Draft.
Christie announced in early April that he would be entering the NBA Draft process, but would be retaining his college eligibility. He has until June 1 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time to withdraw his name from the draft and return to Michigan State.
While there has been no official word from Christie or his camp (there would be no reason for him to publicly comment prior to the combine), recent rumors and rumblings across the internet lean toward Christie remaining in the NBA Draft. Additionally, NBA Draft content creator Ant Wright reported that roughly 90 percent of all NBA Combine attendees over the past two years ended up staying in the draft.
Correction to previous tweet
— ᗩᑎT ᗯᖇIGᕼT (@itsAntWright) May 6, 2022
Of all the NBA Draft combine attendees in 2020, 92.3% stayed in the draft
In 2021, 88.4% stayed in the draft
NIL was passed AFTER the 2021 draft on July 1st, 2021
As a freshman at MSU during the 2021-2022 season, Christie played in 35 games and averaged 9.3 points, 3.5 rebounds and about 1.5 assists per game. He made the Big Ten’s All-Freshman team for the 2021-2022 season. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week five separate times throughout the year.
Christie had inconsistency issues, but flashed his potential and skills throughout his freshman year. He shot just 38.2 percent from the floor overall, and just 31.7 percent from three-point range, while making 82.4 percent of his free-throw attempts.
However, the NBA is all about potential, which Christie has plenty of, and if he is able to get stronger and develop, he could project as an eventual NBA contributor. As of press time, mock drafts have Christie listed from anywhere to the late-first round to the second round.
Meanwhile, Michigan State’s Gabe Brown and Marcus Bingham Jr. also are pursuing the NBA Draft, but neither player received an invite to the NBA Combine. However, Brown did receive an invite to the G-League Elite Camp, which also takes place in Chicago on May 16 and May 17. If Brown impresses there, though, he will receive an invite to compete in the main event later in the week, as the top performers from the G-League camp will earn a spot at the combine.
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