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Dalton Knecht Says He Was Suprised He Fell to Lakers, Happy to Play with LeBron James

Brady Penn|
Nov 19, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht (4) moves the ball up court with forward Anthony Davis (3) against the Utah Jazz during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Nov 19, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht (4) moves the ball up court with forward Anthony Davis (3) against the Utah Jazz during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Former Tennessee Volunteers basketball start Dalton Knecht had a tremendous season with the Vols after transferring from Northern Colorado. He averaged a career-high 21.7 points per game and was widely considered one of, if not the, best basketball players on the college ranks. His performance at Tennessee made it rather suprising he fell all the way outside of the lottery on NBA Draft night.

Knecht was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 17th overall selection. Something he says surprised him as well:

"I would say a little bit. I did what I did in college, a lot of people said I was the best player. You know, when I did fall, it was alright, I fell to a great spot. I get to play with LeBron (James), not a lot of people get to say that. I fell to a great franchise, very blessed to be here."

Knecht and his Los Angeles Lakers took on the Utah Jazz in their group play game for the Emirates Cup. The Lakers would win 124-118 on the day with Major thanks to Knecht’s showing.

Knecht finished the game with a career-high of 37 points. Similar to his days as a Volunteer many of his points came from behind the arch as he shot 9/12 from 3PT range on the night. He tied the NBA Rookie Record of 9 three-point shots made in a single game.

Knecht finished the day 12-16 from the field and was the Lakers leading scorer. Knecht has been moving up the rankings for the Rookie of the Year award. Knecht and the Lakers are 10-4 so far to start the season as the Lakers have put themself in a position to make a strong case for a NBA finals push.

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Brady Penn
BRADY PENN

Brady Penn is a writer who has spent multiple years covering sports for multiple publications. Starting with "The Clarion", Brevard College's school publication, where he won an award for Sportswriting from the North Carolina Collegiate Media Association. Brady continues his work with The Clarion, as well as writing for SI's Volunteer Country and writing Braves pieces for SportsTalkATL.com. Brady is a rising Senior at Brevard, where he plays Football and does Play-by-Play broadcasting for BC Baseball, Men's/Women's Basketball and Softball.

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