Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht just had his best game as a pro, recording 37 points against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

It was a standout performance from the former Tennessee star, who was also 9 of 12 on 3-pointers in the NBA Cup game win over the Jazz. That tied a league record for most three-pointers ever made by a rookie, which is no small feat.

When asked how the Lakers were able to find Knecht, it didn’t take long for LeBron James to admit what exactly happened. Los Angeles hasn’t exactly ‘discovered’ a secret talent with Knecht.

LeBron James on Lakers front office drafting Dalton Knecht: “They didn’t find DK… the other 16 teams made it up” pic.twitter.com/agmO547mnW

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 20, 2024

Instead, according to LeBron, the other 16 teams that didn’t pick him in the 2024 NBA Draft “called it quits” and he then wondered if any of the talent evaluators and decision makers had seen him play.

Knecht, who was named SEC Player of the Year and won the Julius Erving Award for the nation’s best small forward, was available when the Lakers were on the clock.

That serendipity worked out perfectly for Los Angeles, which now has a 23-year-old sharpshooter ready to breathe life into a team coached by JJ Redick.