The Los Angeles Lakers, powered by a breakout performance from rookie forward Dalton Knecht, defeated the Utah Jazz 124-118 at crypto.com Arena on Tuesday night, winning their sixth straight game.

And Lakers superstar LeBron James had a simple, expletive-laden message for the 16 NBA teams that passed Knecht, who scored a career-high 37 points and drained nine 3-pointers to tie the NBA rookie single-game record. the victory of the group game game.

“They (the Lakers front office) didn’t find DK (Lakers guard Dalton Knecht). The other 16 teams messed up,” James said with a wry smile. “Did anyone look at him? S–t! They just didn’t make it up. You don’t ‘find’ SEC player of the year.”

The 23-year-old Knecht was selected by Los Angeles with the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA draft last June after a season in which he averaged 21.7 points and 2.6 threes per game for the Volunteers, making him First- Team All-America earned. status, winning the SEC scoring title and, as James mentioned, being named SEC Player of the Year.

Knecht has been much more aggressive in finding his shot over the past four games as he averaged 24.2 points and 5.2 triples per game while shooting 54 percent or better from the field in each contest.

But Tuesday’s performance was Knecht’s best as a pro, and even included a look back at an iconic moment with six-time NBA champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan. Knecht, during a red-hot third quarter that saw him drain six attempts from beyond the arc, gave the trademark Jordan shrug.

“Rui (Hachimura) was talking to me about needing a three-point celebration,” Knecht said. ‘I didn’t know what to do. So I just shrugged.”

And James, an avid fan of Knecht at Tennessee, could only shrug when asked what he sees of his Lakers teammate now.

“I don’t know,” James said. “The same things I said last year. Everyone on the internet calls me a liar all the time. They say I lie about everything. So, what am I now? I was told that I watched a lot of Tennessee. I didn’t think that he would fall on us.

“I thought it would be impossible. I have no idea how it happened. But very grateful and very happy that he is here. I knew exactly what we were getting when he dropped to 17.”