The Los Angeles Lakers may have just a gem in rookie Dalton Knecht. The former Tennessee Volunteers bucket-getter went off for 35 points in the Lakers’ 128-122 overtime win on the road against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. Those were the most points scored by a Lakers rookie in a preseason game since the 1996-97 calendar year, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“Dalton Knecht is the first Laker rookie to score 30-plus in a preseason game since at least 1996-97, per @EliasSports.”
Knecht was humming all game long, including in overtime where he submitted 13 points. He hit 10 of his 18 attempts from the field, including eight triples on 13 attempts from deep.
Dalton Knecht gets praise from Los Angeles Lakers coach JJ Redick
First-year NBA coach JJ Redick spoke highly of Knecht following the game, per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times (h/t CBS Sports).
“It was an incredible performance,” Redick said during the post-game press conference. “Reggie [Miller] and I were talking about it before the game and he was like, ‘It’s high praise to say he’s in the 1% of shooters.’ And I’m like, ‘Nah, he’s in the 1% of shooters.’ The thing about him is just the mentality. It’s been very obvious in pickup before the season, in training camp, theus far in games. He’s got no fear. He’s not afraid of the moment. That was a show that he put on.”
Knecht was taken by the Lakers in the first round (17th overall) of the 2024 NBA draft, with the team hoping that he can carry over his big-scoring ways in college to the pros. He’s shown flashes of that potential in the Summer League and in the preseason. In his lone season with the Volunteers, Knecht averaged 21.7 points per game with a 39.7 percent shooting from behind the arc.
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