Los Angeles Lakers guard Dalton Knecht tied an NBA rookie record Tuesday night by connecting for nine 3-point field goals in a 124-118 home victory over the Utah Jazz.
But the way he did it was even more impressive than the numbers might indicate.
Over a five-minute span – most of it with stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis on the bench – the former Tennessee Volunteer scored 22 consecutive points for the Lakers, with most of the damage coming from way beyond the arc.
Knecht finished the game shooting 12-of-16 from the field (9-for-12 on 3s) and 4-of-5 from the free throw line for a career-high 37 points.
Who is Dalton Knecht?
Rookie Dalton Knecht is a 6-6 shooting guard from the University of Tennessee, where he was the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American in 2023-24 as a senior.
All things Lakers: Latest Los Angeles Lakers news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.
The Lakers selected him with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 draft.
After Tuesday’s spectacular performance, teammate LeBron James chided the rest of the league for passing on Knecht when they had a chance.
‘They (the Lakers) didn’t ‘find’ DK. The other 16 teams (messed) it up,’ James said. ‘You don’t ‘find’ a SEC player of the year.’
Whose rookie 3-point record did Dalton Knecht tie?
Before Knecht’s outburst on Tuesday, three other NBA rookies had previously recorded nine 3-pointers in a game.
However, the list is not filled with household names.
Keyonte George, Utah Jazz: Feb. 15, 2024
Yogi Ferrell, Dallas Mavericks: Feb. 3, 2017
Rodrigue Beaubois, Dallas Mavericks: March 27, 2010
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast.Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.