Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht has been rewriting narratives his entire career. Overlooked since high school, Knecht has gone from the JUCO ranks to the Big Sky to the SEC and ultimately the NBA, each time being undervalued by his critics.
Lakers fans are quickly learning what's gotten Knecht as far as he's already traveled: A work ethic that has him determined to erase his flaws.
Knecht went from off the radar to SEC Player of the Year, but even then, he fell beyond the lottery range at the 2024 NBA Draft. His offense has already blown his skeptics away during his first season with the Lakers, including the 37-point eruption he produced against the Utah Jazz.
According to Ron Gutterman of Lakers Nation, head coach JJ Redick believes Knecht's steady improvement has been evident on both ends of the floor.
“I think he’s improving his physicality, both on and off the ball I’ve seen some improvement...But I think that’s the biggest part of the learning curve for a rookie is being able to make multiple decisions in a short amount of time during a possession and then going back and doing it again on another possession. It’s hard. It’s hard to pick up the pattern recognition, it’s hard to do."
Redick continued, discussing how he and the coaching staff can help Knecht continue to improve on defense and speaking to the untapped potential his rookie possesses.
“But he’s improving there and I shared with you guys that at some point in August or September, I really challenged him to not be a traffic cone and he’s taken on that challenge. He’s trying, the effort is there. There’s things we can do in the weight room, there’s things we can do in terms of agility. In the long term, I expect him to be a good defender. He’s got the size, he’s got the strength. He definitely has the toughness, competitiveness and length to be that.”
Knecht is far more than just a three-point shooter on offense, but he has all of the tools to excel in a 3-and-D capacity—making his additional skills quite intriguing to consider.
Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht showing signs of progress on defense
Knecht has been a revelation in 2024-25, averaging 11.5 points and 2.3 three-point field goals made in just 23.1 minutes per game. He's doing so while shooting with elite efficiency, posting a slash line of .515/.450/.933 and an eFG% of .654.
One of the primary reasons Knecht has seen an uptick in playing time in recent weeks has been what he's done to balance those efforts on the other end of the floor.
Knecht isn't to be confused with an elite defender at this stage, but his competitiveness has been essential to team success. He's willing to play with and through physicality on both ends of the floor, with his athletic tools permitting quality results on defense.
The Lakers have undoubtedly benefited from his presence, as they're allowing 1.6 fewer points per 100 possessions when he's on the court than when he isn't.
It's all seemingly come together over the Lakers' past six games. During that time, Knecht has averaged 20.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 4.2 three-point field goals made in 33.3 minutes per game—and his defense has remained solid.
Los Angeles not only outscored opponents by 5.2 points per 100 possessions with Knecht on the court during that time, but allowed 2.9 fewer points per 100 possessions on defense.
Solid team defense is an essential first step for any player hoping to excel on that end of the floor. It would be ideal for Knecht to become a true lockdown wing, but even if he maxes out at making the right decisions on a regular basis, that would make him invaluable to the rotation.
Regardless of what type of player he becomes, Knecht refusing to sacrifice the work he's putting in on defense for more opportunities on offense has revealed an entirely new level of upside.