Sports
Max Christie makes his case to be Lakers' next stopper
Max Christie reclined in his locker while a recent Grizzlies game played on the Lakers’ locker-room television. He looked relaxed and ready to go.
However, he was, in fact, sick.
“I sound kinda crazy,” he said with his sinuses turning him into an extended relative of Kermit the Frog.
Hours later, he’d walk back into that same locker room with a big smile, convinced he usually plays better when he’s under the weather. More importantly, he returned to his locker armed with another piece of evidence that he is where he belongs, the Lakers’ long-term project starting to pay off.
Sunday in the Lakers’ 116-110 win against Memphis, Christie became the latest player to move into the team’s starting lineup — a search that began last season under Darvin Ham and that’s continued this year with JJ Redick. Against the Grizzlies, Christie scored only seven points and attempted just three shots, but he largely stayed in front of Memphis All-Star Ja Morant, frustrating him into a six-for-21 shooting night and seven turnovers.
It was Morant’s second-worst shooting game of the season, most of it coming with Christie’s chest in front of him.
“He was great,” said LeBron James of Christie.
With James back after his week away from the team while resting his injured left foot, Redick had another chance to tinker with the Lakers’ starting five. After beginning the season defiantly defending a James-Anthony Davis-Rui Hachimura-Austin Reaves-D’Angelo Russell starting group, Redick moved Russell to the bench after nine games for Cam Reddish. Needing more offense, Redick replaced Reddish with rookie Dalton Knecht, but his shooting has fizzled over the last month.
Gabe Vincent, who started the last three games while the Lakers were still dealing with injures — first to Reaves and then to James — was a real option to stay in the first five before the coaches landed on Christie.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Redick said. “And we really feel like as a staff Gabe has been fantastic the last couple weeks, particularly the defensive end with his physicality and on-ball stuff. And he’s also had some good offensive games as well. I think the size and just the athleticism, and the fact that Max has a really good feel for the game and he can move, was important.”
Christie, who turns 22 in February, re-signed with the Lakers this summer for four years and $32 million, an investment that raised some eyebrows around the league after two uneven seasons to start his career.
But the Lakers and top basketball executive Rob Pelinka believed Christie’s athleticism, his emotional intelligence and his two-way potential were strong enough that he merited the payday and a season-opening spot in the team’s rotation.
Christie, though, struggled badly to start the season and fell out of Redick’s rotation, relegated to late-game mop-up duty in wins over Philadelphia and Toronto before a DNP on Nov. 13 against Memphis.
Injuries, though, opened the door for Christie shortly after that and he’s been a more consistent presence since then.
“I think just being in the fire, to be honest, is how I’ve grown,” Christie said Sunday. “I think in previous years, I haven’t been in a lot of high-pressure, high-stakes situations. This year, I’ve had a few of those and OKC, I obviously made a big mistake in that one.”
Lakers guard Max Christie, left, tries to cut off a drive by Suns guard Devin Booker during a game last month.
(Rick Scuteri / Associated Press)
That mistake — an intentional foul the Lakers didn’t have to give — was crucial and helped cost them a win against the Thunder that could’ve helped snap the Lakers’ out of a funk that lingered until Sunday.
Yet that’s not how it happened. Instead, the mistake simply meant Christie would have to get better next time.
With the Lakers in Atlanta, it was Christie again on an island at the end of regulation, this time with Hawks All-Star guard Trae Young in front of him. With the clock winding down in a tie game, Christie blocked Young’s potential game-winner, sending the game into overtime.
Sunday against Morant in his first game as a starter alongside Davis, James, Hachimura and Reaves, Christie’s athleticism was constantly on display. He quickly moved his feet to keep one of the NBA’s most dynamic guards from getting to the paint. He challenged Morant’s shots at the point of release, Christie jumping with one of the NBA’s best leapers.
It was as much of an impact as a player can make without touching the ball.
“My mind was just focused on trying to make it as tough as I could for him,” Christie said. “He’s a really dynamic player. He’s a really good player. So I want to just do as good of a job as I can, just making it tough for him. And I thought I did a decent job of that tonight.”
As the Lakers move into trade season, teams likely will press the Lakers for Christie’s availability. He’s one of the Lakers’ few young players with trade value. Yet a cleaner pathway for the team’s growth might be counting on Christie to continue his improvement, the two-way wing the Lakers desperately need maybe already in their locker room.
“Just in terms of his long-term outlook and his growth, I think these opportunities are great for him,” Redick said. “I’ll reference the Oklahoma City game where he made a mistake at the end and we play a week later in Atlanta and he’s in sort of the same situation at the end of regulation and he gets a block on Trae Young. With young guys these opportunities are great for them to grow not only confidence but also just the learned experience of our knowledge of being in different situations.”
With Christie, you never have to doubt his understanding of the situation, a mature person despite being one of the youngest players on the roster. He’s been patient with himself. And it’s paying off.
“It feels good and it’s pretty cool just to see the progression and the growth in terms of just me over the last three years, to be honest. And I think I think I’ve slowly gotten a little bit better,” Christie said. “I’ve been put in more tense situations, more important situations. And I think these are good experiences for me, guarding a dynamic part, like Ja, being in at the end of the game. And I think it’s cool for me just to reflect on the growth that I’ve had.
“And then I want to keep that going.”
The Cleveland Browns, rumored to be willing to trade down from their No. 6 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft, did just that Thursday evening when the traded the pick to the Kansas City Chiefs.
Cleveland traded the sixth overall pick in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft to the Chiefs, in exchange for the ninth overall pick, as well as pick No. 74 in the third round and No. 148 in the fifth round.
The Browns now hold the No. 9 and No. 24 picks in the first round of the draft. They have a total of 11 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft.
Quarterbacks Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson of the Cleveland Browns watch from the sidelines during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sept. 7, 2025. (Jason Miller/Getty Images)
So the Chiefs gave up three picks in making the first trade of the first round.
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And we know what the fan bases of both clubs were thinking prior to the selection:
Chiefs fans were thinking we know something they don’t. And then the Chiefs selected cornerback Mansoor Delane from LSU — a move no doubt forced by the club’s trade of Pro Bowl cornerback Trent McDuffie to the Los Angeles Rams earlier in the offseason.
So, the Chiefs fill a major need, assuming Delane is indeed the quality corner they believe.
LSU Tigers CB Mansoor Delane celebrates a defensive stop against the Clemson Tigers at Memorial Stadium in South Carolina. (Ken Ruinard/USA TODAY Network)
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ESPN’s Mel Kiper didn’t like the pick, by the way. He had Delane as the 14th best player in the draft.
“It was a necessity,” ESPN analyst Louis Riddick, a former NFL defensive back, responded.
Browns fans weren’t thinking that way.
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They were probably thinking something akin to “We screwed up.”
This is understandable because they’re Browns fans and this could have been the Browns Browning.
Well, the Browns, moving down three slots, gave up a shot to draft linebacker Sonny Styles of Ohio State to the Washington Commanders, receiver Jordyn Tyson to the New Orleans Saints and then the Browns got their chance with the newly acquired No. 9 pick:
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Offensive tackle Spencer Fano of Utah.
Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry speaks at the NFL Scouting Combine at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind., on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
Fano is good. And he makes the Browns offensive line instantly better because he’s going to likely start at left tackle for them.
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So what will Browns fans think of this pick?
They’ll probably wonder why the Browns didn’t pick Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, who went with the No. 10 pick to the New York Giants and promised “to die for” Jaxson Dart if necessary. They’ll wonder this because Browns fans expect the worst.
UCLA women’s basketball team has added some star power as its revamped roster begins to take shape.
Former Iowa State forward Addy Brown announced Thursday she is committing to UCLA, giving the Bruins one of the top players in the portal.
Brown averaged 11.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game while shooting 43.1% from the floor and 33.8% from three-point distance with the Cyclones last season. She played just 21 games due to injury, but she is one of the better two-way players in the nation on the transfer market.
The 6-foot-2 forward co-starred with Audi Crooks for Iowa State the past few seasons and was a part of the mass exodus from the Cyclones’ program.
The Bruins reeled in former North Carolina junior guard Elina Aarnisalo and former Texas Christian senior guard Donovyn Hunter a few weeks ago, adding two more experienced players to the depleted starting lineup after a record six UCLA players were selected in the WNBA draft.
UCLA also signed Arkansas sophomore guard Bonnie Deas earlier this month. She is likely to start at point guard for the Bruins and is one of the best rebounding guards in the nation.
Along with returner Timea Gardiner, the Bruins are starting to form somewhat of a core to defend their national championship. Gardiner was a starter during UCLA’s 2024-25 Final Four run, but missed all of this past season with injury and has one season of eligibility left.
A lineup with Deas and Aarnisalo in the backcourt, Hunter at the three and Gardiner or Brown at the four and adding another big or Sienna Betts at the five would be a competitive lineup in the Big Ten.
Before going to TCU, Hunter played two seasons at Oregon State where she earned All-Pac-12 Defensive Team honorable mention and All-Pac-12 Freshman team honors. This past season with a Horned Frogs team that went to the Sweet 16, she was third in scoring with 10.2 points per game and averaged 3.2 rebounds per contest. She also shot 45.7% from the field and was 33.7% from beyond the arc.
Aarnisalo played her freshman year in Westwood after she originally committed to UCLA in 2025. Due to injuries from point guard Kiki Rice at the start of the 2024-25 season, she was forced into action early her freshman season and finished the year averaging 5.1 points per game.
The Helsinki, Finland, native averaged 10.2 points per game for the Tar Heels as a sophomore last season while shooting 47.3% from the field and 40.3% from the arc. The Bruins will desperately need to replace the three-point production lost with the departure of Rice, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker.
UCLA coach Cori Close said she wanted to sign five players from the portal. She probably needs one more guard and a little more forward depth coming off the bench following the departures of Gabriela Jaquez and Angela Dugalic.
Lena Bilic and Amanda Muse are returners coming off the bench who got a little bit of playing time in the tournament and should have much larger roles, but they are still relatively unproven in late-game situations. They will get a chance to develop as backups with some more Power Four experienced starters now in the fold.
Trump says there’s ‘no time frame’ to secure Iran deal
Republican Minnesota Senate candidate Tom Weiler joins ‘Fox & Friends’ to discuss President Donald Trump’s blockade in the Strait of Hormuz as the U.S.-Iranian conflict continues and react to Gov. Tim Walz’s, D-Minn., criticism of the president.
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Saudi Arabia was among the countries seeing missiles fly into their airspace as a conflict broke out in the Middle East between the U.S. and Iran.
The prospect of Iran targeting its Middle Eastern neighbors like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates put some sporting events on hold and questioned others. Formula 1 races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were canceled and rumors swirled around whether future WWE events could be held in the kingdom.
Roman Reigns celebrates his win during WWE’s Royal Rumble at Riyadh Season Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Jan. 31, 2026. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
As the Trump administration brokered a ceasefire with Iran, WWE announced on Thursday that its Night of Champions premium live event will be held in Riyadh on June 27.
“We are proud to welcome Night of Champions back to Riyadh and look forward to delivering another unforgettable night of WWE action for fans in the Kingdom and around the world,” General Entertainment Authority chairman Turki Al-Sheikh said in a news release.
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Sami Zayn makes his entrance during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
The release touted that WrestleMania 43 will still be held in Riyadh in 2027. It will be the first time that WrestleMania is held outside the U.S.
WWE president Nick Khan was adamant before WrestleMania 42 that the event will still take place in Saudi Arabia despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“We’re doing WrestleMania next year in Saudi,” he said at a Sports Business Journal event, via The Sporting Tribune. “First time ever, WrestleMania will be outside the United States or Canada. And we’ve had a big, fruitful partnership with them.”
John Cena wrestles CM Punk during Night of Champions at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on June 28, 2025. (Georgiana Dallas/WWE)
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He added that those complaining about WrestleMania being held in Saudi Arabia were a “vocal minority.”
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