The Los Angeles Lakers have relied heavily on rookie guard Dalton Knecht this season, and he’s responded as the team’s most consistent player off the bench. He’s moved into the starting lineup though for the past couple of games due to an injury to Rui Hachimura. During the Lakers’ win against the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, Dalton Knecht dropped a new career-high in only three quarters of play.
Dalton Knecht’s previous career-high was 19 points which he set during the Lakers’ win against the Memphis Grizzlies back on Wednesday. He set the new career-high in the third quarter with a drive to the basket and a dunk that gave him 21 points.
Knecht’s final tally against the Pelicans was 27 points. He also contributed seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. He shot 10-of-17 from the field and 5-of-10 from the three-point line. Knecht also shot 4-0f-4 from the free-throw line, continuing his perfect streak from the stripe this season.
Knecht had been in a shooting slump of late, before breaking out against the Grizzlies. He closed out the game with the starters and following the win, he spoke about the continued trust that JJ Redick has in him even through the slump.
“They just said the same thing that they always say, just keep shooting the ball and play with confidence,” Knecht said. “JJ has a lot of trust in me, and just to go out there and do what I do. Shoot the ball, get to the rim and find teammates.”
Dalton Knecht’s rookie season with Lakers
The Lakers selected Knecht with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. They did not schedule him for a pre-draft workout because it was assumed that he was not going to be available when it was the Lakers’ turn to draft.
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But due to his age, Knecht slipped in the draft and the Lakers grabbed who they felt was a steal that late in the first round. He played a total of five seasons of college basketball. Two seasons of junior college, two seasons at Northern Colorado and one season at Tennessee.
It wouldn’t have been a stretch though to assume that Knecht would get reps with the South Bay Lakers this season. But his play throughout preseason and to start the regular season solidified his spot in the rotation.
Through the Lakers first 12 games of the season, Knecht has been averaging 7.8 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists with splits of 46.1 percent shooting from the field, 38.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 100 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
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