Las Vegas Summer League has come to an end, and with it has come the announcement of the All-NBA First and Second teams for the 10-day event in the desert. The All-NBA Summer League team celebrates the 10 best players from Las Vegas, and while there were many deserving players, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht had as good an argument as anyone.
Knecht played three games in Las Vegas for the Lakers. In that time, he averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game on 41.8% from the field, 39.1% from three and 81.8% from the free throw line. His scoring average was the highest among all rookies
The 23-year-old was easily the Lakers most consistent and best player. But that wasn’t enough to earn him All-NBA Summer honors.
The teams were announced on Monday, with the First Team featuring a pair of Memphis Grizzlies and third overall pick Reed Sheppard and the Second Team featuring a pair of lottery picks and Jaime Jaquez Jr.:
The #NBA2KSummerLeague First Team!
GG Jackson II
Jordan Miller
Scotty Pippen Jr.
Reed Sheppard
Kel’el Ware pic.twitter.com/nKyfOU5WFG— NBA (@NBA) July 22, 2024
The #NBA2KSummerLeague Second Team!
Bub Carrington
Donovan Clingan
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
Jarace Walker
Jalen Wilson pic.twitter.com/21py2vNbsE— NBA (@NBA) July 22, 2024
GG Jackson II and Scotty Pippen Jr. are the two Grizzlies players on the first team. Sheppard — the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft — Kel’El Ware of the Miami Heat and Jordan Miller of the L.A. Clippers round out the top honors from the tournament.
Jarace Walker and Jaquez are the featured second-year players to make the second team. They are alongside Jalen Wilson, No. 7 overall pick Donovan Clingan and No. 14 pick Bub Carrington. Both were technically drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers, but Carrington was traded to the Washington Wizards on draft night. Wilson was named the MVP of the event.
Knecht easily could have been argued to make the second team, but perhaps they felt his efficiency or numbers outside of scoring weren’t enough.
Dalton Knecht envisions himself as best NBA player
Dalton Knecht was one of the best players in college basketball last year, the SEC Player of the Year as well as an All-American, and it was a surprise to everyone that he fell to the Lakers with the 17th overall pick.
His offensive skillset is well known as he is an excellent shooter with deep range, but also has the ability to attack the basket as well. Perhaps most important is his mindset as he was always unafraid of the big moment and felt he was the best player on the court at all times.
And that belief in himself is not changing at the NBA level. In an interview with ESPN, Knecht said that his goal is to eventually be the best player in the NBA and win many championships.
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