LeBron James refuses to give Lakers credit for ‘finding’ Dalton Knecht, and he’s spot on

The 2024 NBA Draft class was widely viewed as one of the weakest in years. So how on Earth did Dalton Knecht fall to No. 17, and how did the rest of the league let the Los Angeles Lakers scoop him up?

To answer the first question, you just have to look at Knecht’s birth certificate. He was already 23 years old on draft night, which always scares teams away, especially if those teams are picking in the lottery. It doesn’t make sense — it hasn’t made sense in about a decade — but teams are so bought into the idea of “developing” a 19 year-old they won’t even glance in the direction of a player who can legally buy himself a beer.

And to answer the second question, well, fellow NBA teams seem to have a weird obsession with helping the Lakers for some reason. LeBron James appreciates the help. When asked about the Lakers front office “finding” Knecht in the draft, James said, “They didn’t find DK… the other 16 teams f****d it up… Did anybody watch him?”

We’re asking the same thing, Bron. Knecht started his college career at Northern Colorado (respect the Big Sky) before transferring to Tennessee in 2023-24, where he led the SEC in scoring and earned first-team All-American honors. Knecht showed an expansive offensive game, far more than a 3-point chucker. He lit up the NCAA Tournament, including 37 points against Zach Edey and Purdue in the Elite 8. It’s not like Knecht was playing on a small stage and slipped through the cracks — we all watched him ball out in college!

Knecht falling out of the lottery in this draft, in which teams were grasping at straws trying to find any NBA talent, didn’t make sense on draft night, and it still doesn’t make sense about five months later. But the Lakers aren’t complaining — when LeBron asks “Did anybody watch him?” he’s asking a reasonable question.

Dalton Knecht is scorching as the Lakers offense rolls

Unfortunately, Knecht is 23 years old so him averaging 24.3 points on 68 percent from 3-point range in his past four games doesn’t count, because he won’t be able to develop at his advanced age.

Sounds a little silly, right?

After stomping Utah on Tuesday, the Lakers are No. 4 in offensive rating and Knecht is a pretty big part of that offensive renaissance under new head coach JJ Redick.