He shot the lights out.
It took almost no time at all for Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht to prove his doubters wrong. Too old, limited ceiling, needs to work on defense — NBA scouts and executives did quite the mental gymnastics routine to talk themselves out of the best pure scorers from last year’s class.
It’s already blowing up in their face. The 17th overall pick went off on Tuesday night for the Lakers, scoring 37 points to push Los Angeles to 2-0 in the NBA Cup. Knecht led the team in scoring, shooting 9-12 from three-point range and 12-16 from the field. He scored 18 points in a three minute span, at one point scoring 22 consecutive points.
The highlights below should look awfully familiar.
DALTON KNECHT HAD HIMSELF A NIGHT:
37 PTS (career high)
9 3PM (ties rookie record)
Scored 22 straight for LA@Lakers move 2-0 in #EmiratesNBACup play and are undefeated going back to last season pic.twitter.com/OjMOeKxY4p— NBA (@NBA) November 20, 2024
LeBron James, who was outspoken about Knecht long before last summer’s NBA Draft, also can’t figure out why he slid all the way to the 17th pick. “Did anybody watch him….?”
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
Knecht’s big night comes off of a 27-point performance on Saturday against the Pelicans. He’s now averaging 11.3 points per game, shooting 46.4 percent from three-point range.
It’s safe to say he’s settling in at the next level.