LeBron James Talks Dalton Knecht Falling to Lakers in Draft: 16 ...
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Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James heaped praise on rookie wing Dalton Knecht on Tuesday night after Knecht erupted for 37 points in a 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz.
After reporters asked James about the Lakers front office "finding" Knecht in the 2024 NBA draft at No. 17 overall, LeBron made it clear that he felt it was more a case of the teams picking ahead of the Lakers screwing up than L.A. finding a diamond in the rough:
LeBron James on the Lakers front office drafting Dalton Knecht: "They didn't find DK … the other 16 teams f—-ed it up" <a href="https://t.co/agmO547mnW">pic.twitter.com/agmO547mnW</a>
"They didn't 'find' DK," James said. "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."
As part of his 37 points, Knecht set the single-game NBA rookie record for three-pointers made with nine, including going 6-for-6 in the third quarter.
DALTON KNECHT HAD 6 THREES IN THE 3Q ???? <a href="https://t.co/g6WNhosxbH">pic.twitter.com/g6WNhosxbH</a>
Last season, in his one and only campaign at the University of Tennessee after transferring from Northern Colorado, Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game and was named SEC Player of the Year.
James publicly praised Knecht's play during his time at Tennessee, and when asked Tuesday what he saw in Knecht at the time, LeBron made s quip about those who accuse him of lying when he discusses things in retrospect:
LeBron James on publicly praising Dalton Knecht last season: "Everybody on the Internet called me a liar all the time. What am I now?" LeBron conceded surprise Knecht dropped to No. 17 <a href="https://t.co/KUtgY8YhvO">pic.twitter.com/KUtgY8YhvO</a>
The 39-year-old veteran added that he thought it would be "impossible" for Knecht to fall to the Lakers at No. 17 overall, but is "very grateful and very happy" that it happened.
Knecht himself admitted to reporters that he was "a little bit" surprised he fell to No. 17 in the draft, but noted that it worked out in the end since it allowed him to land with James, Anthony Davis and the Lakers:
Dalton on whether he was surprised he fell to 17th: <a href="https://t.co/5bZx4NgHZw">pic.twitter.com/5bZx4NgHZw</a>
As good as Knecht was at Tennessee, the 23-year-old was also older than most other prospects in the draft, which likely contributed to his fall to No. 17.
Purdue center Zach Edey was the only college senior to go in the lottery, and another didn't come off the board until Knecht was chosen.
That decision is paying early dividends for the Lakers, as he not only tied the rookie record for made three-pointers in a game, but he also became only the fourth different player in Lakers history to make at least nine triples in a game, joining LeBron, D'Angelo Russell and Kobe Bryant.
Overall, Knecht shot 12-of-16 from the field and 9-of-12 from beyond the arc in the best game of his young career, which helped the Lakers improve to 10-4 on the season and 2-0 in NBA Cup play.
After an up-and-down start to the season, Knecht has now scored in double figures in four straight games, including 27 or more points in each of the past two.
His 11.3 points per game are sixth on the team, but he is tied with LeBron for second on the team with 2.3 three-pointers made per contest, and he is shooting a sizzling 46.4 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lakers weren't able to get a big trade done during the offseason to add a third star to play alongside James and Davis, but Knecht was a major addition in his own right and has clearly made the Lakers a tougher team to play against.
