Dalton Knecht has been an offensive spark plug for the Lakers, igniting the offense with his 3-point shooting and aggressiveness when attacking the basket.
The rookie is averaging 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game and shooting 40.3% from beyond the arc.
On Saturday versus the Pelicans, he got his second start and dominated, scoring 27 points on 10-17 shooting. He made five threes and help L.A. finish their back-to-back road games with a pair of wins.
Knecht doesn’t appear to catch fire or go on a hot streak. It feels as though he’s always in that flow state. All he needs is a few looks to make an impact.
After his best game of the season, he was asked if he had taken any shots this season that he shouldn’t have been shooting and he gave exactly the kind of answer you want your shooter to give.
“No, not at all. I think every time I shoot the ball, it’s a great shot,” Knecht said.
They say shooters shoot and if he’s making over 40% from deep, the math illustrates that Knecht staying aggressive around the perimeter is a good idea.
His teammates agree. Anthony Davis mentioned that, if anything, they want Knecht to take more shots moving forward.
“We kind of got on him last game about turning down shots, passing up open ones,” Davis said following the team’s win against the Grizzlies. “He’s too good of a shooter not to shoot the basketball and he made some big shots for us tonight.”
This might be Knecht’s first year as a pro, but he’s 23 years old and played a full collegiate career. He showed signs of this promise during his senior year at Tennessee, averaging 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.
And yes, LeBron James saw it coming a mile away.
“That’s he been a pro for a while,” LeBron James said after the win versus the Pelicans. “I talked about it last year. It’s no surprise to me.”
You might want to cry “LeCap!” about this statement, but we have proof of LeBron discussing Dalton Kencht and Memphis rookie Zach Edey as good players and pointing out these two as the reason he watched Purdue vs. Tennessee last year.
LeBron continued to compliment his newest rookie, even calling him, hilariously, “sneaky athletic.”
“His shooting’s infectious,” James said postgame. “He can get them off vs. anybody. He’s 6’8”, 6’9” and he’s got a hair trigger so it doesn’t take long for him to get them up. Sneaky athletic as well. His ability to put the ball on the ground and finish as well, you saw that a couple times tonight. We needed it, especially with Rui being out, Cam being out. We had a lot of bodies out as well.”
Every team in the NBA wants great shooters who can space the floor and nearly a dozen games into the season, it appears they’ve found that player in Dalton Knecht.
He’s taken on every challenge, from playing in the Summer League to shining in preseason and starting in regular season games and is passing with flying colors.
Setbacks are bound to happen, but so far, Knecht is exactly what the Lakers needed and is delivering in all aspects of the game.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88.
