Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht was a part of Team C — coached by Chris Mullin — during Friday’s Rising Stars game. Led by Knecht and Stephon Castle of the San Antonio Spurs, Team C won the mini-tournament and earned their place as the fourth team in Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game.
Now coached by Candace Parker, the Rising Stars will face off against Lakers star LeBron James and Shaq’s OGs in the semifinal of Sunday’s mini-tournament. It’s a tall task for a collection of rookies and sophomores to beat a team littered with NBA legends, but Knecht and company will certainly have no fear heading into the game.
It has been a whirlwind of a February for Knecht, personally. He has been traded to the Charlotte Hornets, only for the deal to be rescinded and for him to return to L.A. He took a game off before returning to action in the team’s final game before the break, then headed to San Francisco to represent the Lakers at All-Star Weekend.
After all of it, Knecht is simply looking to have fun and hope that the Rising Stars can get a victory on Sunday.
“Yeah, about to play my first All-Star Game, that’s crazy, as a rookie,” Knecht said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun. We are going to try to go out there and put on a show and try to make it competitive for sure. We’re going to try to get that win.”
Knecht focused on what it might be like to face LeBron and some other NBA legends, and reiterated that the goal is to try and be competitive.
“It might be a lot of fun, the young guys, or us, we’re going to try to go out there and go against those guys,” Knecht added. “I’m not sure about — I’m playing against Bron, so I get to go against one of my teammates. So, it’ll be a lot of fun to go out there and try to make a statement.”
Knecht is certainly motivated to get a win, but not for any reason other than wanting to win every time he steps out on the floor.
“I guess, yeah, of course. I’m a competitor, so of course I’m going to go out at them.”
The Lakers rookie will be on his biggest stage yet by getting the chance to play in the All-Star Game. It will be exciting to see if the Rising Stars team can make some noise against a group of some of the game’s most legendary players.
When to watch Dalton Knecht play in All-Star Game
The NBA All-Star mini tournament is on Sunday, Feb. 16, at 5:00 p.m. PT and airs on TNT. The first semifinal between Kenny’s Young Stars and Chuck’s Global Stars tips off at 5:20 p.m. PT, followed by Shaq’s OGs against Candace’s Rising Stars at 6:10 and finished with the championship at 7:00.
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