The Los Angeles Lakers’ stellar rookie Dalton Knecht continues to impress with a career-high 37 points in their 124-118 victory over the Utah Jazz Tuesday.
Knecht went 12 for 16 from the field and a whopping nine for 12 from beyond the arc. The rookie did most of his damage in the final minutes of the third quarter. Knecht knocked down six three-pointers in the final 3:29 of the quarter and went on a personal 21-7 run that lasted until the 11:08 mark of the fourth quarter.
The NBA season is about a month old and to this point, Knecht is looking like the steal of the draft.
The 17th overall pick out of the University of Tennessee is averaging 11.3 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 1.1 assists so far this season. He is also averaging 52.3% from the field and 46.4% from three.
Dalton Knecht has brought his much-needed shooting abilities to Los Angeles and is already making an impact not only on fans but also on his teammates.
Los Angeles Lakers Teammates Rave About Dalton Knecht
LeBron James had a lot of praise for the rookie when he spoke to the media after Tuesday’s game. When answering a question regarding the Los Angeles Lakers “finding” Knecht with the 17th pick of the draft, James made it known that he felt like it was more of the teams that picked before the Lakers messing things up by not drafting Knecht.
“They didn’t find DK. The other 16 teams f–ked it up. Did anybody watch him? S–t. They just didn’t f–k it up. You don’t find a SEC Player of the Year,” James said.
Further proof of the confidence that Knecht’s teammates have in him came from what Anthony Davis had to say about what he feels every time Knecht shoots the ball.
“Anytime he shoots the ball I think it’s going in, that’s why we get so frustrated and upset when he doesn’t shoot. He’s a great player. He can defend, he can shoot, he can put it on the floor, he can pass, so he can do it all. But when he has his stretches where he gets hot, it’s a big boost for our team and we’re able to feed off that energy and most of the time we make a run off of it,” Davis said.
While Knecht is getting the chance to prove himself on the NBA stage, some of his teammates were admirers of his game while he was still in college. One of those guys is Austin Reaves.
In December 2023, when Knecht was in the midst of a shooting slump during his last season at Tennessee, Reaves sent him a message that contained words of encouragement. It is something that Knecht still keeps in mind.
Reaves recently took the time to talk about how the now Los Angeles Lakers teammates developed a relationship.
“I just randomly one day saw him going crazy doing what he did in college and obviously I was very impressed with the way he scores the ball. The way he willed his Tennessee team to a lot of wins was special and I like to show my respects when I really like guys that have a lot of talent, and he’s one of those guys. I would text him after games that I saw and congratulate him on the accolades that he was putting up. That’s really it,” Reaves said.
James is another one of Dalton Knecht’s teammates who was impressed with the rookie when he was in college. James took a jab at a certain group of people when answering a question about his public praising Knecht last season.
“Everybody on the internet called me a liar all the time. What am I now?” James said.