Former Tennessee basketball superstar Dalton Knecht is starting to light up the NBA as he gets comfortable in his rookie role with the Los Angeles Lakers. The VFL scored a career-high 37 points in the Lakers' most recent game and carried them to the win.
Tennessee fans have been familiar with this for a long time, and it looks like the Association is about to learn what every Tennessee fan across Vol Nation knows: that Knecht is a star in the making.
NBA GMs didn't know this on draft night, which is why Knecht fell all the way to No. 17, where the Los Angeles Lakers drafted him. LA's GM Rob Polinka knew he hit the lottery with Knecht falling that far, and Charles Barkley agreed.
The former NBA All-Star knew what kind of player Knecht could be in the NBA. He called the rest of the NBA "stupid" for letting Knecht fall all the way to the Lakers.
Chuck tried to tell y’all pic.twitter.com/UnAh54UiSD https://t.co/y282f2ZGQa
— Austin Brown (@Austin_Vols) November 14, 2024
Even LeBron James is calling out the other franchises that passed on Knecht. "They didn't find DK. The other 16 teams f---- it up. Did anybody watch him? What the f---? S---. They just didn't f--- it up."
His profanity-laced rant came after the former Vols star put up 37 points earlier this week. Everyone in the Lakers organization has been ranting and raving about Knecht since arriving in Los Angeles this Summer.
Knecht has been even better since getting his foot in the starting lineup. As a starter, he averages 15.2 points per game while shooting 55% from the field and 51% from three-point range.