Dalton Knecht may be on his way to NBA Rooke of the Year honors, and LeBron James is understandably excited about that possibility.

Given his resume, Knecht was one of the most intriguing prospects in the 2024 NBA Draft class. After spending two seasons at Northern Colorado, where he averaged 20.2 points per game in his second year, Knecht transferred to Tennessee , where he was named SEC Player of the Year, averaging nearly 22 points and five rebounds per game.

It was a small sample size in which Knecht succeeded at the highest collegiate level. Sixteen teams passed on the 6-foot-4 shooter before the Los Angeles Lakers called his name with the 17th overall pick.

It seems like this was a very wise move by the Lakers’ front office.

Knecht is averaging over 11 points in 21.5 minutes of action per game, but has shown serious flashes in each of the Lakers’ last two games, scoring 27 points against the New Orleans Pelicans and then making nine threes along the way to a 37-point game against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

James was asked about Knecht after the Lakers earned their sixth straight win, and he made it abundantly clear that teams that passed on the former Volunteer had made a royal mistake.

“They (the Lakers) haven’t found DK – the other 16 teams are in disarray,” James told reporters. ‘Has anyone looked at him? They’re just confused.’

To James’ credit, he was on Team Knecht months ago. He told the media in June that he gave Knecht serious attention during Tennessee’s March Madness run.

Interestingly enough, Jared McCain, who was drafted 16th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers just before Knecht’s name was called, is currently the odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year.