DALLAS — Max Christie was at the Dallas Mavericks’ practice facility most days this summer. The team had a new president of basketball operations in Masai Ujiri, a new general manager in Mike Schmitz, and a new coach in Dusty May, and Christie wanted to be around all of them.
He also came in to get in the best shape he could. That meant running the floor, shooting when tired, shooting on the move, and guarding at a high level.
“I was here a lot for sure, just trying to spend time here. And obviously with the new coaching staff and the new leadership, I wanted to be able to be around and kind of make my presence felt, obviously get to know all the new people,” Christie said Sunday. “But a lot of it was just getting in the best shape I possibly could be, being able to run up and down the floor, being able to shoot when I’m tired, shoot on the move, and obviously being able to guard at a high level too. So that’s mostly been it, just been here and been really working on getting in shape.”
It was Christie’s second summer in Dallas. The Los Angeles Lakers drafted him 35th overall out of Michigan State in 2022. They re-signed him to a four-year, $32 million deal on July 2, 2024, and traded him to Dallas in February 2025.
His scoring average has climbed in each of his four NBA seasons, from 3.1 points as a rookie to 4.2 and then 9.6. Last season, he averaged career highs of 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 77 games, starting 68 of them.
He shot a career-best 40.4% from three, making 180 of 446 attempts. At the free-throw line, he went 125-of-139. Christie was sharpest before the All-Star break, when he averaged 13.3 points and shot 42.6% from three in 50 games. After the break, he averaged 10.4 points and shot 36.3% from three in 27 games. In the 24 Dallas wins he played in, he shot 42.8% from three.
The deal runs through a player option for 2027-28, and there has been dialogue with Dallas about an extension. It is not what Christie is focused on, he told Locked On Mavericks.
“There’s been some dialogue, but to be honest, it’s not really something I’m focused on to keep it 100,” Christie said. “I’m really focused on this season and just playing the best basketball that I can and continuing to help this team win. Extensions, if they happen, they happen, if they don’t, they don’t. I’m not really worried about that to be honest, so I just want to help this team win.”
Max Christie On His Future In Dallas And A Bigger Role
The city has shown Christie nothing but love since the trade, he said at media day Friday, and so have his teammates and the fans.
“Absolutely. I love being here. The city has welcomed me with open arms ever since I came here a year and a half ago, or however long ago that was, in that trade,” Christie explained. “And so I felt nothing but love from the city, from my teammates, from the fans. And so I absolutely love staying here.”
Christie started the most games at shooting guard for Dallas last season. May has healthy competition at every spot, he said Friday, and he doesn’t see Christie as only a shooting guard.
“I don’t look at any of those guys as a shooting guard. I think Max can be a primary handler at times. I think he can be a swing player,” May said. “He obviously has a skill set that’s unique where I think he shoots the ball well. He’s a good defender and he’s really fast as a straight-line driver. So I think we just have to do a great job of blending all of their unique traits and talents together and not look at it as this guy versus that guy.”
Christie worked on primary ball handling this summer. The staff has been trying to build his confidence in what they want from him in the offense, and May was around for the workouts.
“Everything that Dusty has said he wants me or anybody else to do, we’ve all been working on this summer. That’s one thing I appreciate about him as well,” Christie said. “He’s been here, he’s been present, and he’s been so involved in all of our workouts and [our summer] practices as well.”
Christie switched from No. 00 to No. 0 this season. There is no major significance to it, he said, and he wanted to keep it simple.
Christie On Dusty May, Playing Fast, And The Green Light
May has been vocal and involved with the players from the first day of camp. Christie called it a pleasure to watch how May thinks the game.
“He’s phenomenal. Like I said, his involvement with us as players and his voice… he’s just being so vocal, especially for a first-year head coach. And it’s been very fun to be coached by him,” Christie said. “It’s been a pleasure to watch, to see how he thinks the game, how he puts players in positions to score and be successful. And so he’s going to be very successful for sure, for a long time.”
May came from Michigan, where he won the 2026 national championship. Christie has had a few coaches in the NBA, and May’s style is different. May has come to the players with questions and for advice.
“There’s a different style for sure, and there’s a different way that he’s involved, but I enjoy it. I love it, to be honest,” Christie said. “He’s being so transparent with us as players, and he’s come to us for a lot of questions and a lot of advice, and obviously we’ve gone to him for the same thing. And he’s been so active with us as players, and so it’s been a joy to be a part of for sure.”
May said Sunday that he will not overrule players with a spreadsheet when they are efficient at their best shots. For Christie, that has meant belief and words of affirmation.
“A lot of it has been belief in me and a lot of words of affirmation that I really appreciate. He’s just putting me in positions and in actions and giving me the green light to shoot when I’m open, obviously,” Christie said. “Like you said, me being able to shoot the three and space the floor for our team is going to be important. He’s just really empowering me to do that. As a player, it’s always good. It feels good to have a coach that does that for you.”
Playing fast under May starts in transition, according to Christie, and carries into the half-court with quick decisions. He watched Michigan play that way last season.
“I know he doesn’t want to walk the ball up on makes and misses. We want to be able to get out and then run. That creates mismatches for the defense, allows us to get easier opportunities to score,” Christie said Friday. “And then on the half-court, too, playing faster just means making quicker decisions. Catch, shoot, pass, one of those has to be made, and point-five, we call it. So not really holding the ball, just making quick decisions.”
Christie On Guarding The Best Player And Klay Thompson’s Goldfish Mentality
Christie wants to be the perimeter defender coaches and teammates can lean on when Dallas needs a stop. That starts with conditioning, he said at media day.
“First be in the best shape of my life, because I want to be able to run up and down the floor in the way that I’m going to be able to play, hopefully [guarding] the best player on the perimeter, setting the tone there,” Christie said. “And then on the defensive side, the same thing, trying to set the tone on the perimeter for our team. And just trying to be that point-of-attack defender that coaches and teammates can lean on when they know we need a [stop] somewhere. We need someone to guard one of their best players, that they can trust me to do that.”
He came back to it Sunday. Christie doesn’t want to be known only as a shooter.
“First and foremost is being in shape, for sure. You’ve got to be able to run all night long. And obviously it’s a challenge. I welcome challenges, and I want to be able to be a versatile player. I don’t want to be known as just a three-point shooter. I want to be able to play both sides of the ball,” Christie said. “And it is a mentality. Obviously you’ve got to study players’ games and their tendencies, but at the end of the day, I think it’s an effort level and how in shape you are. That’s something I really attacked this summer and something I want to continue to do.”
Klay Thompson, a four-time champion, spent two seasons with Dallas before the Mavericks bought out his contract on Aug. 21, and he has since joined the Miami Heat. Christie took more from Thompson than shooting technique.
“Aside from obviously shooting technique and whatnot, I think just his demeanor and how much confidence he has in himself. He kind of has this goldfish mentality where he forgets about the play that just happened, good or bad,” Christie said. “And so that’s something that I’ve tried to adopt and something that I try to implement into my game as well.”
That same mentality is what Christie wants for Daniel Gafford, who has never made a three in a regular-season game. May said Sunday that Gafford will shoot rhythm threes as long as he continues to earn the right.
“Confidence. That’s the biggest thing. Just continue to work and have confidence in it. He worked on it all summer. His shot looks great,” Christie said. “Every time he shoots it, just believe it’s going in. If you miss it, like I said, with that mentality, just forget about it and shoot your next one.”
Kyrie Irving is back after missing all of last season with a torn ACL. Christie has already had a front-row seat to Irving creating in camp.
“He looks phenomenal. It’s always fun to play with a Hall of Famer, and he’s someone that I really enjoy playing with. Obviously watching him create, and then being his teammate as well, I’m the beneficiary of a lot of just his basketball,” Christie said. “And so it’s been fun to share the floor with him, and he’s going to be a huge piece for us this year.”
Golf is Christie’s favorite hobby and a training ground for moving on to the next shot, he said. Cooper Flagg named him among the team’s best golfers. His favorite course around Dallas is Royal Oaks, where he has shot 82 or 83 a couple of times.
Dallas opens the regular season at Houston on Oct. 21. The home opener is Oct. 24 against San Antonio at 7 p.m. CT, against a team Christie noted went to the Finals last season.
