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Dalton Knecht

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Dalton Knecht
Knecht with the Tennessee Volunteers in 2024
No. 4 – Los Angeles Lakers
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2001-04-19) April 19, 2001 (age 23)
Fargo, North Dakota, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolPrairie View (Henderson, Colorado)
College
NBA draft2024: 1st round, 17th overall pick
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career2024–present
Career history
2024–presentLos Angeles Lakers
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Dalton Douglas Knecht (/kəˈnɛkt/ connect; born April 19, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Northeastern Junior College, Northern Colorado, and Tennessee. He was selected 17th overall by the Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft.

Early life and high school career

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Knecht is the son of Corey and Carrie Knecht.[1] Knecht was born in Fargo, North Dakota and grew up in Thornton, Colorado, attending Prairie View High School.[2][3][4] He entered his sophomore year at 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) and grew to 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) by his junior year.[5] Knecht averaged 21 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a senior.[6]

College career

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Knecht began his college basketball career at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado.[7] He grew another two inches between his senior high school season and his first season with the Plainsmen.[5] Knecht averaged 13.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game as a freshman.[8] He averaged 23.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and two assists per game as a sophomore.[9] Knecht grew another three inches during his time playing at Northeastern Junior College to bring his height to 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 m).[5] He committed to transfer to Northern Colorado to continue his college career.[8]

Knecht averaged 8.9 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in his first season with the Northern Colorado Bears.[10] As a senior, he led the Big Sky Conference with 20.2 points per game and averaged 7.2 rebounds per game.[11] After the season, Knecht decided to utilize the extra year of eligibility granted to college athletes who played in the 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and entered the NCAA transfer portal.[12]

Knecht transferred to Tennessee for the 2023–24 season.[13][14] He was named the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Player of the Week for the first week of the season after scoring 17 points in the Volunteers' season-opening win over Tennessee Tech and 24 points with five rebounds in a 80–70 road victory over Wisconsin on November 10, 2023.[15] Knecht scored a then-career-high 37 points in a 100–92 loss to North Carolina on November 29, 2023.[16] He was named the SEC Player of the Week a second time on January 15, 2024, after scoring 28 points in a 77–72 loss to Mississippi State and 36 points in an 85–79 win over Georgia.[17] Knecht set a then career high with 39 points in a 85–66 win over Florida on January 16, 2024.[18] On February 29, 2024, Knecht tied his then-career high with 39 points against 11th-ranked Auburn in a 92–84 win.[19] On March 9, 2024, Knecht set a new career high on senior night with 40 points in an 85–81 loss to 15th-ranked Kentucky.[20]

Knecht was named SEC Player of the Year by both the league's coaches[21] and the Associated Press (AP).[22] He was also named SEC Newcomer of the Year by the AP.[22][a]

Professional career

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Los Angeles Lakers (2024–present)

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Knecht was selected with the 17th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA draft[23] and he signed with them on July 3, 2024.[24]

Knecht made his NBA debut on October 22, 2024, in a 110-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, scoring 5 points.[25] On November 13, Knecht scored a then career-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field with 5-of-5 shooting from three-point range in a 128–123 win over the Memphis Grizzlies.[26] Three days later, he broke this record, scoring a then career-high 27 points along with seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals in a 104–99 win over the New Orleans Pelicans.[27] On November 19, Knecht scored a career high 37 points, including nine three-pointers, in a 124–118 victory against the Utah Jazz. He also tied the record for the most three-pointers made in a single game by a rookie in NBA history.[28]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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NCAA Division I

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Northern Colorado 35 11 24.1 .436 .361 .753 3.6 .9 .5 .5 8.9
2022–23 Northern Colorado 32 32 35.3 .479 .381 .771 7.2 1.8 .8 .6 20.2
2023–24 Tennessee 36 36 30.6 .458 .397 .772 4.9 1.8 .7 .6 21.7
Career 103 79 29.8 .461 .383 .768 5.2 1.5 .7 .6 16.9

JUCO

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2019–20 Northeastern JC 31 14 — .504 .451 .786 2.9 1.1 .5 .3 13.3
2020–21 Northeastern JC 20 20 — .512 .395 .818 7.5 2.0 .7 .5 23.9
Career 51 34 — .508 .432 .807 4.7 1.5 .6 .3 17.5

Footnotes

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  1. ^ The Newcomer of the Year award is one of two awards presented to the top player in his first season of SEC play. The league's coaches vote on a Freshman of the Year award, restricted to players in their first season playing college basketball; this award went to Kentucky's Reed Sheppard in 2024.[21]

References

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  1. ^ "Dalton Knecht - Men's Basketball". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  2. ^ Bowlin, Ryan (June 27, 2024). "#NDProud: Fargo Born Dalton Knecht Drafted No. 17 by LA Lakers". KVRR Local News. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  3. ^ Tobey, Jacob (January 28, 2023). "Colorado native Dalton Knecht helping lead UNC basketball". 9news.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  4. ^ Peterson, Eric (June 27, 2024). "PHOTOS: Tennessee's Dalton Knecht set to join LeBron in LA as Enderlin celebrates". Jamestown Sun. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c Lambert, Terry A. (April 21, 2023). "Northern Colorado transfer Dalton Knecht commits to Tennessee". RockyTopTalk.com. SB Nation. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  6. ^ Watson-Fisher, Jadyn (November 12, 2020). "Northern Colorado athletic programs add 20 signees to 2021 rosters". The Fort Morgan Times. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  7. ^ "Dalton Knecht". Northeastern Junior College. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  8. ^ a b Pisani, Hart (November 12, 2020). "NJC's Dalton Knecht signs with UNC Bears". Journal-Advocate. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  9. ^ Ramey, Grant (August 9, 2023). "In Italy Dalton Knecht showed why when he shoots 'you feel good about it going in'". On3.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  10. ^ Ankony, Jack (April 5, 2023). "Indiana To Meet With Northern Colorado Transfer Dalton Knecht". SI.com. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  11. ^ Watson-Fisher, Jadyn (March 14, 2023). "Dalton Knecht becomes fourth Bear to earn NABC All-District honors". Greeley Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  12. ^ Watson-Fisher, Jadyn (March 23, 2023). "Northern Colorado men's basketball: Dalton Knecht enters transfer portal". Greeley Tribune. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  13. ^ Moore, CJ; Vecenie, Sam (April 21, 2023). "Former Northern Colorado guard Dalton Knecht transfers to Tennessee". The Athletic. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "Dalton Knecht offers what Tennessee basketball has been missing". Knoxville News Sentinel. November 11, 2023. Retrieved November 11, 2023.
  15. ^ Lidskin, Jonathan (November 14, 2023). "Dalton Knecht Named SEC Player Of The Week". SI.com. Retrieved November 17, 2023.
  16. ^ Paschall, David (November 29, 2023). "Knecht's 37 points not enough as Vols fall at North Carolina". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  17. ^ Taylor, Noah (January 15, 2024). "Vols' guard Dalton Knecht named Co-SEC Player of the Week". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  18. ^ Wilson, Mike (January 16, 2024). "Dalton Knecht scorches Florida as Tennessee basketball rolls Gators". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  19. ^ "Auburn Tigers vs. Tennessee Volunteers Live Score and Stats - February 28, 2024 Gametracker". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  20. ^ Rexrode, Joe (March 10, 2024). "Vols' loss to Kentucky despite Dalton Knecht's 40 makes SEC tournament mission clear". The New York Times. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  21. ^ a b "2024 SEC Men's Basketball Awards announced" (Press release). Southeastern Conference. March 11, 2024. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Zenor, John (March 12, 2024). "Tennessee's Dalton Knecht named AP's SEC player of year; South Carolina's Paris is coach of year". Associated Press. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
  23. ^ McMenamin, Dave (June 27, 2024). "Lakers thrilled with Dalton Knecht pick: 'Extraordinary' value". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  24. ^ "Los Angeles Lakers Sign Dalton Knecht and Bronny James". NBA.com. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  25. ^ "Minnesota Timberwolves at Los Angeles Lakers Box Score, October 22, 2024". BasketballRef. October 26, 2024. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  26. ^ Gomez, Michael Aaron (November 14, 2024). "JJ Redick shouts out true 'catalyst' for Lakers' comeback win vs. Grizzlies". ClutchPoints. Retrieved November 14, 2024.
  27. ^ Yapkowitz, David (November 16, 2024). "Dalton Knecht sets new career-high in just 3 quarters vs. Pelicans". ClutchPoints. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  28. ^ Woike, Dan (November 19, 2024). "Red-hot Dalton Knecht scores 37 points as Lakers win sixth in a row". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
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