Dalton Knecht and the Los Angeles Lakers have traveled to Memphis on Wednesday night to play the Grizzlies in a Western Conference battle. The Lakers announced Knecht would be making his first career start on Wednesday afternoon.
With Knecht's return to the Volunteer State, where he rose to national status at Tennessee, he will make his first career start in the NBA with his former coach sitting courtside.
Avery Braxton of ABC24 Memphis reported that Rick Barnes has joined Knecht in the FedEx Forum, home of the Grizzlies, for his first career start.
Vols in the building!
— Avery Braxton (@Brax_Avery) November 6, 2024
Tennessee head basketball coach Rick Barnes in the building to support VFL Dalton Knecht, now a LA Laker
Lakers vs. Grizzlies - 7pm pic.twitter.com/6HevUoxa9H
He joins household names in Los Angeles in the starting lineup. He starts alongside LeBron James, D'Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Jaxson Hayes.
Knecht has been a jolt of energy in the Lakers' offense early in the season. He hasn't put up crazy numbers, but he has been a consistent force for the Lakers. Knecht averages 7.3 points per game in his young NBA career, shooting 47.4% from the field and 37.5% from the three-point range.
He has been one of the highest-performing rookies in the Association so far based on +/- statistics. Knecht ranks fourth among rookies with a +8 scoring margin. The only players ahead of him are Oklahoma City's Ajay Mitchell (+22), Toronto's Jonathan Mogbo (+17), and Phoenix's Ryan Dunn (+13).
Coming into Wednesday night's games, Knecht has also scored the fourth-most points of any rookie this season, with 18 against the Cleveland Cavaliers on October 30. The rookies to score more points than Knecht so far are Zach Edey, with 25, Kyshawn George, with 20, and Jared McCain, with 19.
The Lakers went into halftime trailing the Grizzlies 53-59. Knecht's shooting wasn't great in the first half, going only one-for-four from the field with three points.