Dalton Knecht has been everything as advertised and more for the Los Angeles Lakers as he’s quickly skyrocketed up the depth chart and is now a starter under head coach JJ Redick.
Knecht started the 2024-25 season coming off the bench, but was elevated to the starting lineup because of his outside shooting and scoring ability. After a brief stint as a reserve, Redick had no choice but to re-insert Knecht into the starting lineup because of his natural shooting stroke and spacing benefits next to LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James himself already said that Knecht fits everything that the Lakers want to do, a ringing endorsement from arguably the greatest player of all time.
The Tennessee product has already erupted for a few hot-shooting performances, with one of them coming against the Memphis Grizzlies. Games between Los Angeles and Memphis always have a little more meaning behind them after their recent playoff matchup. When the Grizzlies won their matchup in Memphis earlier this season, Ja Morant came out and straight up said he doesn’t like the Lakers.
Knecht revealed that he and the Lakers were extra motivated to beat the Grizzlies for Morant being so disrespectful to James and the rest of the roster, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN:
“Go for the throat,” Knecht told ESPN. “They tried to embarrass us on their home court.”
Beyond his still-aching jaw, Knecht was particularly miffed with how Ja Morant went at his teammate LeBron James, with the Memphis star “saying that he was pretty much the new king around here when Bron’s still in the league.”
“They were real disrespectful,” Knecht said. “We had that game ready on our minds.”
Los Angeles was able to avenge their previous loss to Memphis behind an impressive showing from Knecht who poured in 19 points on 7-for-8 shooting including a perfect 5-of-5 from the 3-point line.
There’s no love lost between the Lakers and Grizzlies when they match up together, so it must have felt more satisfying to give them a taste of their own medicine. Knecht hasn’t been in the league for very long, but the rookie already understands how deep some of the rivalries go and appears to be prepared for those games that require a little more than usual.
Dalton Knecht is still figuring out his 3-point celebration
The Lakers have been desperate to find a shooter like Knecht as the team has routinely ranked toward the bottom in terms of 3-point makes and percentage. With how often he shoots from distance, Knecht admitted he’s still figuring out his 3-point celebration.
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