Back in the 2017 NBA Draft, the Lakers picked Lonzo Ball as the No. 2 overall pick, and last night they selected Dalton Knecht with the 17th pick.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ vice president of basketball operations and general manager, expressed his excitement about Knecht’s arrival. “In my mind, there is no way a player like this will be available for us to pick on draft night,” he said. “Across the board, just couldn’t be happier.”
Dalton Knecht’s College Journey:
Knecht is a 23-year-old who averaged 21.7 points per game with impressive shooting stats: 49.9% from the field and 39.7% from three-point range. After playing one season with Tennessee Volunteers, he moved to colleges in Colorado before returning to Tennessee in March to lead them to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
OFFICIAL: Welcome to the Purple & Gold family Dalton Knecht!
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers)
Many thought Knecht would be a top-10 pick after scoring 37 points against Purdue in an elimination game three months ago. However, he surprisingly slipped to No. 17 where the Lakers grabbed him. Pelinka noted, “If we would have had the 10th pick in the draft, we would have taken him,” highlighting how lucky they felt getting him at their spot.
Knecht’s Motivation and Inspiration:
Knecht shared that being overlooked has been a constant theme in his career: “Every time I touch a basketball or walk into a gym, I always feel like I got something to prove; it’s always going to be there…”
Pelinka compared Dalton’s shooting skills to JJ Redick’s style and mentioned that even before drafting him, their new coach was already planning strategies around Knecht.
“That’s really exciting,” said Knecht about being compared to Redick. He used to watch Redick play during his time at Tennessee under Coach Rick Barnes.
Fans love when players feel they have something extra special!
Playing Alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis:
Dalton was still amazed by his future teammates after being drafted by Los Angeles Lakers.
Back in April, LeBron James had mentioned Dalton while discussing women’s college basketball viewership: “We watched that Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht.”
Dalton later recalled seeing this video clip for himself: “I woke up… tons of people were texting me… And when I watched that video… my parents called me right away.”
“Sharing that court with both [Anthony Davis] and Bron is going to be real special,” he added with excitement.
