In his senior year at Rainier Beach High, Christie led the school's varsity boys' basketball team to their first-ever Washington state championship.

[6] On February 22, 1993, Christie and Benoit Benjamin were traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Sam Perkins.

He played with Vlade Divac in LA, who he would eventually team with in Sacramento to challenge the Lakers in multiple playoff series.

Just prior to the start of the 1994–95 season, the Lakers traded Christie to the New York Knicks for two second-round draft picks.

[22] On March 24, 1996, Christie helped the 17–49 Raptors defeat the 60–9 record-breaking Chicago Bulls[23] in one of the bigger upsets in NBA history.

In the 1999–00 season, alongside Tracy McGrady, Charles Oakley and Vince Carter, Christie helped Toronto to their first ever playoff appearance.

[30] In Sacramento, Christie became the Kings' popular starting shooting guard and developed into one of the league's best defenders.

[31] During the 2000–01 season, Sports Illustrated dubbed the Kings' starting five of Jason Williams, Peja Stojaković, Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, and Christie "The Greatest Show on Court".

Following Christie's ankle surgery, the Orlando Magic released him on August 11, 2005, under the new NBA collective bargaining agreement one-time amnesty clause.

Due to a slow healing surgically repaired left ankle, Christie was waived by the Dallas Mavericks on November 25, 2005, signaling his impending retirement.

[36] In 2014, Christie was named to a team assembled by Dennis Rodman as part of his "basketball diplomacy" effort in North Korea with the job of playing an exhibition match against the North Korean Senior National Team to celebrate the birthday of Kim Jong-un.

[37] Christie began working as a color commentator for Sacramento Kings games on NBC Sports in the 2018–19 season.

In 2002, The New York Times published a feature story in which the Christies spoke about their marriage and committed lifestyle.