The Los Angeles Lakers did not fare too well in the NBA Summer League. They did go 3-2, but LA did not exactly send shockwaves throughout the NBA with their overly impressive performances in the summer tournament. What this stint did for them, however, is that it allowed them to have a look at their younger players square up against elite competition. As it turns out, the Lakers may have already unearthed Austin Reaves' second coming.

According to Sean Deveney of heavy.com, this could come in the form of incoming second-year shooting guard Max Christie:

“He’s exciting. There’s excitement that he could follow Austin Reaves’ footsteps, what he did the last couple of years,” said heavy.com's anonymous source.

Related Los Angeles Lakers NewsArticle continues below
Lakers forward LeBron James (23) celebrates his game winning shot
LeBron James’ MVP voting finish leaves Lakers fans in awe
A shadowy player in a LA Lakers jersey in the middle. Have LA Lakers player LeBron James on one side and LA Lakers player Luka Doncic on the other, starting center trade
The starting center Lakers must acquire after Rudy Gobert, Julius Randle shaming

Christie didn't take the league by storm in his rookie campaign last season. In fact, he played just 41 games throughout the year, putting up averages of 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 12.5 minutes per contest. However, this could all change in 2023-24.

The 20-year-old balled out in the NBA Summer League behind averages of 19.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. Obviously, he was playing against lesser competition, but Max Christie's could definitely be a case of just needing the opportunity to show what he's capable of. He did exactly that in the Summer League, and he's now hoping that he's left a significant enough impression on Darvin Ham and the Lakers coaching staff for him to earn some minutes in the rotation this coming season.

Based on the above report, this could be the case for Christie this year. The Lakers do seem to have some high hopes on this kid.