Ahead of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Celtics and Heat, we take a look at Max Strus’ parents, ethnicity and nationality.
The Miami Heat are into the Eastern Conference Finals after beating the Philadelphia 76ers in the previous round, 4-2. The Heat will now take on the Boston Celtics for a place in the NBA Finals, with Game 1 taking place in Miami tonight (17 May).
One of the surprise packages for the Heat this season has been the emergence of Max Strus. We find out more about Max Strus’ parents, nationality and more.
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His career so far
Max Strus played college basketball for the Lewis Flyers and the DePaul Blue Demons. In his final season at DePaul he averaged 20.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.9 steals per game.
He is also only the second Blue Demons player, behind former No.1 overall pick Mark Aguirre, to score 700 points in a season.
Strus went undrafted in the 2019 NBA draft but was named to the Boston Celtics Summer League roster. He spent time in the NBA G League game for Windy City Bulls and signed a training camp contract with the Miami Heat in November 2020. In 2021 he signed a two-year contract to remain with the Heat.
Max Strus’ parents, John and Debra
Max Strus’ parents are John and Debra Strus. Debra Strus played basketball and volleyball for DePaul, while John played basketball for Eastern Illinois. NBA.com reports Debra was a two-sport star and a member of their Athletic Hall of Fame.
Max’s parents are incredibly supportive of his career and it’s clear he inherited a love of sport from his athletic family!
Max Strus’ ethnicity and nationality: Is he American?
Throughout the playoffs, fans have wondered about Max Strus’ nationality. Strus was born in the Chicago suburb of Hickory Hills, Illinois, and attended Amos Alonzo Stagg High School. The 26-year-old is American by nationality.
There are no pictures of his parents online but Max Strus’ ethnicity is Caucasian.
Strus on making Eastern Conference Finals
Throughout the season Strus has steadily risen from a role player to a starter. In March, when the Heat were stumbling a little in the regular season, head coach Erik Spoelstra made a change to the rotation that saw Strus start ahead of Duncan Robinson.
“He did everything last year and this summer to put himself in position to be able to take on a bigger role,” Spoelstra said (per NBA.com).
Since then, Miami have gone from strength to strength and now find themselves in the Eastern Conference Finals.
“It’s one of the biggest moments, not only in my career but in my life,” Strus said ahead of Game 1 vs the Celtics. “This is the moment you want to be in being a basketball player and doing what we do for a living. And I’m super excited and want to start tomorrow.”
Who do you think will win the series, the Heat or the Celtics? Let us know in the comments below!
