Los Angeles Lakers megastar LeBron James had some truly glowing things to say about one of his rookie teammates and we don’t mean his son.
Rookie forward Dalton Knecht, who the Lakers took 17th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, scored a career-high 37 points in last night’s 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz. 21 of those points came in a single quarter. Knecht also went 9-of-12 from three and added five rebounds plus a steal for a truly heroic effort in the win.
After the game, LeBron was incredibly proud of what Knecht was able to do. But when asked about the Lakers’ front office finding Knecht, he tried to set the record straight. LeBron declared that the Lakers didn’t “find DK,” rather it was the 16 teams that went before the Lakers that screwed up by not taking him.
“They didn’t find DK. The other 16 teams (expletive) it up,” LeBron said with a laugh. “Did anyone watch him (in college)? They just didn’t (expletive) it up.”
LeBron James on the Lakers front office drafting Dalton Knecht: “They didn’t find DK … the other 16 teams f—-ed it up” pic.twitter.com/agmO547mnW
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 20, 2024
Fans in the comments of Dave McMenamin’s video couldn’t help but agree with LeBron:
“Lebron never giving the FA credit lmaoooo. But he didn’t lie tho,” one user replied.
“Imagine hearing this from a top 2 player of all time. Unreal trust and confidence for Knetch,” wrote another.
“Well he’s not wrong. Even Rob (Pelinka) said they had Knecht top 10,” a third wrote.
Over his last two seasons of college at Northern Colorado and Tennessee, Knecht was the most prolific scorer in his conferences. He averaged 20.2 points per game with the Bears in the 2022-23 season and 21.7 points per game with the Volunteers in the 2023-24 season, earning All-American honors in his final season.
Knecht graded pretty highly heading into the 2024 NBA Draft but slid out of the top 10 and right into the awaiting Lakers.
If games like last night’s continue to be closer to the norm than the outlier, tons of NBA teams are going to be kicking themselves for a long time.
Will Knecht wind up being the best player of the 2024 NBA Draft?
Related: Lakers Rookie Dalton Knecht Put On A Show Last Night