Dalton Knecht was viewed as one of the biggest steals in this year’s draft, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers with the 17th overall pick. And recently, he has begun to find his stride after a bit of a slow start, giving the Lakers the offensive boost off the bench the team needs.
He has also endeared himself to his teammates and the coaches, all of whom have spoken highly of him since the offseason. But perhaps his closest relationship is with guard Austin Reaves.
In fact, this stretches back to Knecht’s time in college at the University of Tennessee as Reaves revealed that he noticed his play there and began texting him after games.
“I just randomly one day saw him going crazy doing what he did in college and obviously I was very impressed with the way he scores the ball,” Reaves said after practice on Monday. “The way he willed his Tennessee team to a lot of wins was special and I like to show my respects when I really like guys that have a lot of talent, and he’s one of those guys. I would text him after games that I saw and congratulate him on the accolades that he was putting up. That’s really it.”
Reaves and many others were impressed by Knecht’s season in Tennessee, where he would win SEC Player of the Year. Most expected Knecht to be drafted in the top 10, but as he continued to drop and eventually the Lakers were on the board, Reaves felt the choice was obvious.
“It was crazy. I don’t know if I would say I was watching, but I was somewhat paying attention and not seeing him name pop up on the board, I was like ‘Hmm, what’s going on?’” Reaves noted.
“And then it kept getting to 13, 14, 15 and I was like as soon as it got to us at 17, in my brain it was a no-brainer. I don’t know what the process upstairs was but if I was a betting man, which I can’t bet, but if I was, that would’ve been my pick. I texted him that night and congratulated him and ever since then we’ve been shooting after practice together and creating a relationship. He’s a good kid.”
Reaves and the Lakers were on the same page as they quickly made the choice to bring Knecht to the purple and gold and things are working out excellent so far.
That first year in the NBA can be very difficult, but forging relationships helps ease that transition and make players more comfortable. For Knecht, having that relationship with Reaves is a bonus and there is no doubt that both are happy he is here with the Lakers now.
Anthony Davis thinks every shot Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht takes is going in
Dalton Knecht has the full confidence of all of his teammates as a shooter and for the most part he has proven them right. Lakers superstar Anthony Davis recently spoke on this, saying that he thinks every shot Knecht takes is going in.
“Anytime he shoots the ball I think it’s going in, that’s why we get so frustrated and upset when he doesn’t shoot,” Davis said of Knecht. “He’s a great player. He can defend, he can shoot, he can put it on the floor, he can pass, so he can do it all. But when he has his stretches where he gets hot it’s a big boost for our team and we’re able to feed off that energy and most of the time we make a run off of it.”
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