The Los Angeles Lakers experienced the explosion of a rookie and no, it’s not Bronny James. It is Dalton Knecht, a 1.98 meters and 23 years old small forward who until now has been less in the spotlight, but he is much more developed than LeBron’s son. He has shown it in the preseason, but he confirmed it in a friendly win against the Suns (122-128) in which he scored 35 points, 20 of them in a row!
With 113-107 on the scoreboard, Knecht, a North Dakota native, hit two three-pointers to force overtime. The second was outstanding, over Bol Bol’s 7-foot-2 defense.
He started the overtime with two more three-pointers from beyond the arc and ended up scoring 13 of the Lakers’ 15 points in those extra five minutes. In total, he scored 35 with 8/13 three-pointers and seven rebounds in 32 minutes. Anthony Davis’ 35 points and 10 rebounds were forgotten after such an exhibition.
Knecht was selected by the Lakers with the 17th pick in the last draft after a college career that took him through Northeastern Junior College, Northern Colorado and Tennessee. In his senior year he averaged 21.7 points and 39.7% from three-point range. He was predicted to be a top-10 pick, but on draft day he fell to the middle of the first round and the Angels jumped at the chance to acquire an elite shooter.
In the five preseason games he’s played he’s averaging 18.0 points on 18/50 from beyond the arc, a remarkable 36.6% shooting that could be much higher without the hesitation of the first three games (5/24). It’s testing time, but the rookie has shown he’s ready to help off the bench. A player who can cause such a scoring barrage should be exploitable.
“Cannon!!! That cold kid!!!”, LeBron James wrote on his social networks after the game. The star did not play, but enjoyed his teammate’s recital from the bench. He will have a week off before the regular season starts, as it seems that he will not participate in the last friendly against the Warriors either.
His son Bronny did have minutes: 17, in which he scored four points on 2/4 shooting and 0/2 from the line.
The Lakers have a good rookie… and it is not him.
