{"id":17939,"date":"2024-06-27T19:08:30","date_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:38:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/?p=452344"},"modified":"2024-06-27T19:00:01","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T13:30:01","slug":"what-lebron-james-has-said-about-dalton-knecht","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/nba\/what-lebron-james-has-said-about-dalton-knecht\/","title":{"rendered":"What LeBron James has said about Dalton Knecht"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In a twist that had Lakers fans doing a double-take, the team snagged one of the top talents in the 2024 NBA Draft with their 17th overall pick. Spoiler alert: it wasn\u2019t Bronny James. Instead, it was Tennessee\u2019s standout star, Dalton Knecht.<\/p>\n<p>Knecht made quite the entrance as a senior transfer for the Volunteers, lighting up the court with an average of 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. His sharpshooting skills were on full display, boasting a 45.8 percent field goal rate and a 39.7 percent success rate from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t bad at all for a player who spent his first four seasons in the lesser-known realms of junior college and Northern Colorado. Knecht\u2019s journey from obscurity to stardom is nothing short of remarkable.<\/p>\n<p>Now at 23, Knecht is ready to bring his impressive scoring abilities and precision shooting to the Lakers. But he\u2019s not just bringing talent; he\u2019s bringing respect\u2014specifically from none other than LeBron James.<\/p>\n<p>As Knecht gears up for his potential team-up with LeBron in Los Angeles, here\u2019s a closer look at what the King himself thinks about this rising star. Spoiler: LeBron is quite impressed with what Knecht brings to the table.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What LeBron James said about Dalton Knecht<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The Lakers pulled off a draft-day coup by securing one of the 2024 NBA Draft\u2019s most celebrated players with their 17th overall pick. Surprisingly, it wasn\u2019t Bronny James. Instead, the spotlight shines on Tennessee\u2019s Dalton Knecht.<\/p>\n<p>Knecht emerged as a senior transfer for the Volunteers, dazzling fans and scouts alike with averages of 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. His shooting stats are equally impressive, with a 45.8 percent field goal rate and a 39.7 percent success rate from three-point land.<\/p>\n<p>This meteoric rise is especially notable given his humble beginnings in junior college and at Northern Colorado. Knecht\u2019s journey from relative obscurity to the NBA draft is a testament to his hard work and talent.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">LeBron James said that he watched Tennessee play in the Elite Eight because of Dalton Knecht. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe watched that Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Video: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mcten?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@mcten<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/HTKnOJRqsX\">pic.twitter.com\/HTKnOJRqsX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tanner Johnson (@JohnsonTanner23) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JohnsonTanner23\/status\/1775752187177541883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>At 23, Knecht is set to bring his scoring prowess and sharpshooting skills to the Lakers. And he\u2019s not just catching the eye of fans; he\u2019s also impressed LeBron James.<\/p>\n<p>In a media session in March, LeBron casually mentioned Knecht while discussing the NCAA Tournament. Specifically, LeBron tuned into the Purdue vs. Tennessee game, partly due to the All-American guard. \u201cWe watched that Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht,\u201d James said. \u201cPlayers, depending on who they are, will drive that attention when it comes to viewership.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This may not be the most detailed endorsement, but LeBron\u2019s interest in Knecht\u2019s performance speaks volumes about his respect for the young player\u2019s game.<\/p>\n<p>Will Knecht quickly earn a prominent role off the Lakers\u2019 bench thanks to this confidence? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n<p>Whether LeBron and Knecht will share the court is still up in the air, as LeBron is expected to opt out of his contract and test free agency. However, the Lakers appear determined to retain the NBA legend, especially after bringing in JJ Redick as a coach.<\/p>\n<p>One thing\u2019s for sure: the Lakers\u2019 future just got a lot more exciting with Dalton Knecht in the mix.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Dalton Knecht stats<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"table-container\">\n<table border=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Season<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Team<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Games<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Minutes<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Points<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Rebounds<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Assists<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Steals<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Blocks<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2021-22<\/td>\n<td>Northern Colorado<\/td>\n<td>35<\/td>\n<td>24.1<\/td>\n<td>8.9<\/td>\n<td>3.6<\/td>\n<td>0.8<\/td>\n<td>0.5<\/td>\n<td>0.5<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2022-23<\/td>\n<td>Northern Colorado<\/td>\n<td>32<\/td>\n<td>35.3<\/td>\n<td>20.2<\/td>\n<td>7.2<\/td>\n<td>1.8<\/td>\n<td>0.8<\/td>\n<td>0.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>2023-24<\/td>\n<td>Tennessee<\/td>\n<td>36<\/td>\n<td>30.6<\/td>\n<td>21.7<\/td>\n<td>4.9<\/td>\n<td>1.8<\/td>\n<td>0.7<\/td>\n<td>0.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Total<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>\u2014<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>103<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>29.8<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>16.9<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>5.2<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>1.5<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0.7<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>0.6<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a twist that had Lakers fans doing a double-take, the team snagged one of the top talents in the\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":294,"featured_media":38681,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1073],"class_list":["post-17939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-lebron-james"],"reading_time":"3 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/294"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}