Michigan State’s Max Christie will remain in 2022 NBA Draft

Michigan State freshman guard Max Christie has officially decided he will be hiring an agent and remaining in the 2022 NBA Draft rather than returning to East Lansing for his sophomore season. The freshman is currently participating in the 2022 NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

Regarding Christie’s decision, Michigan State basketball head coach Tom Izzo said in a statement, “After taking some time the last few months to focus on preparation and evaluation, Max and his family have decided that he will be signing with an agent and remaining in the 2022 NBA Draft. I know this has been a lifelong dream for Max and I am excited for him as he takes the next step and continues the process and journey to becoming an NBA player. We appreciate all of the hard work and dedication he gave to Michigan State Basketball this season and wish him nothing but the best.”

Christie announced in early April that he would be entering the NBA Draft process, but would be retaining his college eligibility. He had until June 1 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time to withdraw his name from the draft and return to Michigan State. Ahead of that deadline, he has instead chosen to remain in the draft.

As a freshman at MSU during the 2021-2022 season, Christie played in 35 games and averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. He also averaged almost 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 will look to bring consistency to his shooting at the next level, as he struggled at times during what will be his sole season in college. 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.