Los Angeles (AP) When Dalton Knecht made his fourth straight 3-pointer and drove the Los Angeles Lakersentire arena into a frenzy, he was only able to shrug.
The Lakers rookie’s shrug was quite particular, but it was the same one that Michael Jordan had made famous following a historic 3-point burst in the 1992 NBA Finals.
Knecht stated, “Rui (Hachimura) was discussing with me the necessity of obtaining a 3-point celebration.” I shrugged since I had no idea what to do.
The increasingly correct answer to the query that many NBA fans are posing following Knecht’s 37-point tirade is a shrug.Tuesday evening: How exactly did Knecht end up with the Lakers as the 17th pick in the draft last summer?
Knecht tied the single-game rookie record by scorching the Utah Jazz with nine 3-pointers in the Lakers’ 124-118 triumph. After making those four straight threes in the third quarter, he added three free throws, another triple, and another three at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
Knecht remarked, “I just got into a groove.” My teammates always searched for me and eventually located me. For me, they made it simple. All I needed to do was open up and get the shot.
Knecht led the Lakers with 21 points in the third and fourth quarters, including 21 points in the third quarter. Even though he didn’t score again, his most recent display of his incredible shooting ability put Los Angeles up by an amount that was impossible to overcome.
Anthony Davis praised him for being outstanding tonight. He’s unique to watch when you’re that hot. We get a lot of energy if he shoots the ball that way.
Four games ago, Knecht entered the starting lineup for the Lakers, and he has excelled in his expanded role. He is shooting an incredible 21 for 31 from three-point range and scoring 24.3 points per game on average.
The Lakers have been searching for a catch-and-shoot player to go with LeBron James and Davis for years. Just 14 games into the season, the sample size is still somewhat tiny, but Knecht seems to be the ideal perimeter player the Lakers have been looking for.
Coach JJ Redick remarked, “His ability to make shots gets us going.” For our team, it is a true weapon. It’s a weapon that gives us energy in addition to the score.
Additionally, Knecht exhilarates his teammates and even evokes happy memories for his rookie coach, who was somewhat of a sharpshooter himself during his 15-year NBA career, when he finds the kind of rhythm he did against Utah.
According to Redick, it’s the flow state. You’re not thinking. You’re simply in perfect harmony with the earth’s curvature and its a thousand-mile-per-hour rotation on its axis. The ball feels weightless now that you’ve released it. Everything seems to be about to go in.
With the Lakers off to an outstanding 10-4 start to the season, Knecht already looks to be a vital rotation member. For the first time in almost four years, Los Angeles has won six games in a row.
The league’s front offices are also questioning Knecht a lot because he allowed him to slide to the Lakers at No. 17.
The explanation at the time was believed to be twofold: Knecht was not regarded as much of a defender and was already 23 years old after playing five seasons of collegiate basketball.
With every outstanding performance by the late-blooming wingman, who played two years in junior college and two more at Northern Colorado before transferring to Tennessee for his sixth collegiate season, such worries seem more and more ridiculous.
Knecht, who averaged 21.7 points per game and was named SEC Player of the Year, was an All-American for the Volunteers. Even in the Lakers locker room, where James and Davis watched his games and Austin Reaves became a text friend long before the Lakers selected him, he attracted the attention of the basketball world.
James remarked, “I didn’t think he was going to fall to us.” I didn’t think that was feasible. Although I’m not sure how it happened, I’m really appreciative and glad he’s here. When he dropped to 17, I knew precisely what we were getting into.
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