The Los Angeles Lakers were ecstatic to see Tennessee wing Dalton Knecht fall to them with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Knecht was one of the best players in all of college basketball last season and is an ideal fit next to Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis as someone who could potentially contribute immediately for this team.
A number of fans became familiar with Knecht during his run in the NCAA Tournament earlier this year. In particular, his showdown in the Elite 8 against Zach Edey and Purdue when he scored 37 points was seen by a lot of people, including LeBron James himself.
In fact, LeBron spoke about watching that game after it happened, even mentioning Knecht by name. And the Lakers’ rookie would admit that he didn’t even think the video was real when first informed of it.
“Yeah, I remember that clip,” Knecht said after being drafted. “I woke up and rolled out of bed and I thought it was fake because tons of people were texting me. I was just like, there’s no way.
“When I watched that video, it just brought a smile to my face, and also my parents. They called me right away and told me about it. It’s going to be special and it’s going to be fun just to be sharing the court with both of them, AD and LeBron. LeBron is one of the greatest. So it’s going to be real special.”
To be recognized by one of the greatest players of all-time is certainly a moment Knecht will never forget and it makes sense that he would be skeptical of the validity. It is one thing for LeBron to talk about the game, but to be mentioned by name is something completely different.
And now Knecht gets to be James’ teammate, which he is excited to do and can’t wait to get to work.
“It feels great, to play with one of the greats to ever touch a basketball,” Knecht added. “It’s going to be exciting to go put on a show for L.A.”
With his ability to space the floor and move without the basketball, Knecht has the potential to really help out LeBron and Davis and is an ideal fit for the Lakers. Now it will be about putting in the work and delivering on that potential, and he gets the chance to do that under the brightest lights.
Dalton Knecht reveals first jersey he got as a kid was of Lakers legend Kobe Bryant
Dalton Knecht called being drafted by the Lakers a dream come true and the rookie wing was not just paying lip service with that statement.
Prior to the draft, Knecht was interviewed and asked what was the first basketball jersey he ever got. And he would reveal that it was a Kobe Bryant Christmas edition Lakers jersey, even remembering the exact color scheme of it, and further getting Lakers fans on his side by paying homage to arguably the franchise’s greatest player ever.
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