Dalton Knecht reacts to being drafted by Los Angeles Lakers, becoming teammates with LeBron James
By Andrew Olson
Published:
Dalton Knecht made a name for himself in the college basketball world with a season to remember as a Tennessee Volunteer. Next up for Knecht is wearing one of the most recognizable basketball jerseys in the world.
Knecht was picked by the Los Angeles Lakers at No. 17 overall in Wednesday’s Round 1 of the 2024 NBA Draft.
It wasn’t too long ago that Knecht did not have a Division I scholarship offer. Stops at JUCO and Northern Colorado helped get him to UT, and now he’ll be teammates with LeBron James.
“It feels great, to play with one of the greats to ever touch a basketball,” Knecht said of joining James’ team. “It’s going to be exciting to go put on a show for L.A.”
James is already familiar with Knecht. The King gave Knecht a shoutout a couple of months ago, referencing Tennessee’s meeting with Purdue.
2 months ago LeBron shouted out Dalton Knecht
Now they’re teammates pic.twitter.com/30uTwnLgsT
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) June 27, 2024
“Yeah, I remember that clip,” Knecht said in his draft night press conference. “I woke up and rolled out of bed and I thought it was fake because tons of people were texting me. I was just like, ‘There’s no way.’
“When I watched that video, it just brought a smile to my face, and also my parents. They called me right away and told me about it. It’s going to be special and it’s going to be fun just to be sharing the court with both of them, AD and LeBron. LeBron is one of the greatest. So it’s going to be real special.”
Lakers fans expect Knecht to be special. The SEC Player of the Year, Knecht led the conference in scoring with 21.7 points per game in 2023-24. A shooter first and foremost, Knetch shot 45.8% from the field and 39.7% from beyond the arc.
A media member mused that Knecht has seemingly improved his game at every stop as he climbed the competition ladder from Northeastern Junior College to Northern Colorado to Tennessee.
Knecht’s next test will be his biggest. In the leadup to the draft, fans and media members had plenty of questions about his age (23). Knecht will approach L.A. like he approached every other stop: eager to show that he belongs.
“Every single time I touch a basketball or walk into a gym, I always feel like I’ve got something to prove,” Knecht said Wednesday.
“It doesn’t matter where I’m at. It’s always going to be there, having that chip on my shoulder, feeling like I’ve been underrated for my whole life. It’s something I’m going to carry with me the rest of my career.”
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
