The Los Angeles Lakers got the biggest steal of the first night of the 2024 NBA draft when they added top choice Dalton Knecht with the no. 17 pick.
According to NBA Analysts, it was the night they secured their present and their future.
Ahead of the draft, there were many questions on whether or not the Lakers would actually make the selection. Various clubs made big moves, the biggest being the New York Knicks going all in on their former Villanova players on their roster by trading away Bojan Bogdanovic, four unprotected first-round picks, and one protected first-round pick, in exchange for forward Mikal Bridges.
Standing at 6’5″ and weighing 212 pounds, Knecht emerged as a standout guard in his lone season at the University of Tennessee this year.
Averaging an impressive 21.7 points per game with shooting splits of 45.8% from the field, 39.7% from beyond the arc, and 77.2% from the free-throw line, Knecht led the SEC in scoring. He was a force.
His performance earned him First Team All-America honors and the title of SEC Player of the Year.
Over his 103 Division I games, Dalton averaged 16.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, consistently proving his scoring prowess.
He scored in double figures in 75 of those games, including 38 with 20 or more points, 11 with 30 or more, and one ground-breaking 40-point performance.
Knecht’s game draws comparisons to legendary NBA players such as Klay Thompson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Jerami Grant, and Terrence Ross.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers’ Vice President of Basketball Operations and General Manager, expressed his excitement about Knecht’s selection in a statement released by the team.
“It’s an extremely exciting night for the Los Angeles Lakers. We would have never imagined a player as skilled and perfect for our needs would be there for us,” said Pelinka. “We had him as a top 10 player unanimously across our scouting boards.”
