Melissa Rohlin

FOX Sports NBA Writer

LeBron James didn’t want to praise his Los Angeles Lakers.

Instead, he wanted to draw flak from other NBA teams, especially the 16 who passed on 17th overall pick Dalton Knecht in the 2024 NBA Draft.

“They didn’t find DK,” James said of the Lakers as he stood at his locker after Knecht’s breakout performance in Los Angeles’ 124-118 win over Utah on Tuesday. “The other sixteen teams screwed up. Did anyone see him? S—.”

Knecht had 37 points on 12-for-16 shooting Tuesday night, including a 9-for-12 mark from beyond the arc against the Jazz. His nine three-pointers tied the NBA rookie record in a single game.

Knecht scored 21 straight points late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, electrifying the crowd at Crypto.com Arena and inspiring Lakers coach JJ Redick to wax poetic about how those rare moments felt during his playing career as a marksman.

“It’s just the flow condition,” Redick said. “You’re not thinking. You’re just perfectly balanced with the curvature of the Earth and the Earth spinning on its axis at 1,000 miles per hour. You’ve let go. You’ve let go and the ball just feels weightless. ” And it feels like everything is going inward. … I wish I could have gotten into that state more.”

Redick named Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry the player who gets into that zone most often, adding that the players who have access to it make their teammates aware of where they are on the court at all times. He said Knecht shares that quality because his teammates are constantly watching him.

It’s clear that the rookie’s potential is sky-high, especially if he continues to improve defensively and increase his physicality. In the Lakers’ final game against New Orleans on Saturday, he finished with 27 points on 10-for-17 shooting, including 5-for-10 from deep.

James was quick to point out that he foresaw the 6-foot-4 forward’s talent.

Last March, James mentioned Knecht during a media presence and said one of the reasons he watched a Tennessee-Purdue game during the NCAA tournament was because of Knecht. And after the Lakers took Knecht in the draft, James pointed out that Knecht was his favorite player in college basketball, aside from his son, Bronny, whom the Lakers selected with the 55th pick.

“Everyone on the internet calls me a liar all the time,” said James, who had 26 points and 12 rebounds. “…So, what am I now? I was told. I watched him. I watched a lot of Tennessee. I watched a lot of Tennessee. I didn’t think he was going to fall for us. I thought it was would be impossible. I have no idea how that happened, but I’m very grateful and I’m very happy that he’s here. I knew exactly what we got when he dropped to 17.”

Knecht entered Tuesday’s game averaging 9.3 points on 48.4% shooting from the field, including 40.4% from beyond the three-point line. And he is clearly feeling more and more comfortable. That’s a good sign for the Lakers, who were criticized for failing to make major strides after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs last season.

The 23-year-old is playing with confidence and the more consistent he becomes, the more this will help open up space for superstars James and Anthony Davis, who have long needed great shooters in their side.

Will Dalton Knecht become the reliable outside threat that LeBron James and Anthony Davis have long needed? (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Knecht makes a name for himself early on. He’s having fun. He even imitated Michael Jordan’s shrug during the 1992 NBA Finals during his hot streak on Tuesday.

The Lakers (10-4) have now won six straight games, fueled by a recent four-game triple-double streak from James and an MVP-caliber game from Davis. And, most recently, because of a rookie who slipped further than he should have in the draft.

Although Knecht admitted he was surprised at the time, he now believes everything turned out well.

“I did what I did in college,” he said. “A lot of people said I was the best player. So when I fell, it was okay because I ended up in a great place. I got to play with LeBron. I mean, who can say? And then also AD, I went to a great franchise and I’m very blessed to be here.”

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the competition for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

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