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The current Los Angeles Lakers front office led by vice president and general manager Rob Pelinka has a history of unearthing hidden gems in the NBA draft.
Former Laker Alex Caruso and current starting point guard Austin Reaves are prime examples.
Dalton Knecht, this year’s No. 17 pick, proves to be another steal after he exploded for a career-high 27 points and matched the NBA’s single-game rookie record with nine 3-pointers to lead the surging Lakers past the Utah Jazz 124-118 on November 19 for their sixth straight win.
Lakers superstar LeBron James, however, took exception to Knecht’s selection and refused to credit the Lakers front office for finding him.
“They [Lakers front office] didn’t ‘find’ DK,” James told reporters. “The other 16 teams [expletive] it up. Did anybody watch him? [Expletive]. They just didn’t [expletive] it up. You don’t ‘find’ a SEC Player of the Year.”
The 23-year-old Knecht was a projected lottery pick after his breakout season at Tennessee, which James closely followed, but the rookie’s age became a factor for lottery teams who preferred to take a swing on younger players who can be developed into a star.
Knecht is making them regret their decision as he is now averaging 20.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.0 assist since he joined the Lakers starting lineup four games ago. He’s scored in double digits in all four starts and made 21 3-pointers during that span, injecting the much-needed shooting around James and Anthony Davis.
And James is shoving it in their faces.
LeBron James Praised Dalton Knecht During March Madness
Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game and on his way to earning SEC Player of the Year honors in his lone season with the Volunteers.
Interestingly, his 37-point explosion during their loss to Zach Edey and Purdue in the Elite Eight in March caught James’ attention at the time.
“We watched that Purdue and Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht. Players, depending on who they are, will drive the attention when it comes to the viewership,” James said at the time.
James used Knecht’s 37-point explosion against the Jazz as the perfect opportunity to hit back at his critics when a reporter asked to compare Knecht’s play with the Lakers from his lone season with the Volunteers.
“I don’t know,” James said. “The same [expletive] I said last year. And everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time. They say I lie about every [expletive] thing. So what am I now? I’ve been said it. I watched him. I watched Tennessee a lot.”
Lakers Remain Unbeaten in NBA Cup
James (26 points and 12 assists) and Davis (26 points and 14 rebounds) logged double-double for the Lakers who improved to 2-0 in the 2024 Emirates NBA Cup and 7-0 at home. =
Reaves added 17 points as the Lakers notched their first six-game winning streak since their 2021 championship inside the NBA bubble in Orlando.
But Knecht was the story of the night.
The rookie uncorked 18 straight points in the third quarter that had James and the Lakers bench dancing.
“Special to watch,” James told reporters. “It’s fun. I mean, when you’re playing the game the right way, and it’s coming into the flow, but when a guy gets hot like that, and feel like you could you just throw anything into the ocean and it’s going in for sure. And DK, got it going.
“Everybody was in the game at that moment. I think it was DLo, finding him a lot, and when I got in, I got to find him. Whole team. Just keep finding him because he had it going.”
Their 10th win 14 games also pushed the Lakers to third place in the strong Western Conference behind Oklahoma City Thunder (11-4) and their California rival Golden State Warriors (10-3).
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