Los Angeles Lakers wing Dalton Knecht has put the finishing touches on a frustrating 2025-26 regular season. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined, Knecht took center stage and posted 17 points and four assists in just 12 minutes during a 131-107 win over the Utah Jazz.
If that was, in fact, Knecht's final regular season game with the Lakers, as many have speculated it was, then it was a harrowing reminder of how much talent has been left on the table.
No one will fault the Lakers for prioritizing three of the best offensive players in the NBA in their system. Doncic, LeBron James, and Reaves are not only great scorers, but excellent playmakers who became the first trio in Association history to all average at least 20.0 points and 5.0 assists per game.
The downside of the Lakers' three-headed monster, however, is that the approach to keeping all three steadily involved meant greatly limiting on-ball opportunities for other players.
No one suffered more from that development than Knecht. Just one year removed from a promising rookie season, he became a virtual non-factor as his field goal attempts were cut in half from 7.1 to 3.5 per game, and his role became all but exclusively off-ball execution.
With the Lakers' backs against the wall, however, Knecht stepped up and took over to deliver a momentum-building win in what may very well have been his final regular season game with Los Angeles.
Dalton Knecht shows out in what may have been final Lakers regular season game
Los Angeles won 53 games and, if they can get healthy during the 2026 NBA Playoffs, could prove to be a true contender. If nothing else, they're led by Doncic, who would've been an MVP candidate had he met the 65-game requirement, and James, a four-time NBA champion.
With this in mind, there's a world in which the decision to deprioritize Knecht ultimately proves to be the right decision as the Lakers build a roster that no longer needs his skill set.
The harsh reality, however, is that the Lakers' starters have been overburdened throughout the 2025-26 season. Los Angeles' bench ranked No. 29 in points per game, as well as No. 30 in three-point field goals made. Both of those facts were a product of limited volume rather than efficiency.
The Lakers' reserves ranked No. 2 in field goal percentage and No. 9 in three-point field goal percentage, but were dead last in both field goal and three-point field goal attempts.
Lakers never gave the reserves a chance to create offense
That's an accurate depiction of what the 2025-26 season boiled down to: A star-heavy approach that limited the supporting cast's contributions. Knecht was unfortunately at the mercy of such a reality, as the promise of his rookie season was overshadowed by the limitations placed on his role.
As a result, Knecht went from averaging 9.1 points on .461/.376/.762 shooting in 2024-25 to 4.2 on .455/.342/.727 shooting in 2025-26.
Having already attempted to trade Knecht in 2024-25 before Mark Williams' failed physical derailed the deal, there's reason to believe his decreased role in 2025-26 was the beginning of the end. If that proves to be the case, then one haunting reality will remain.
Knecht is one of just four players on the roster with a guaranteed salary beyond the 2025-26 season—and now, a full regular season of his development has been wasted.