NBA All-Rookie Teams expose disappointing draft miss for Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers did not have much to look forward to in terms of NBA award announcements. However, there were supposed to be a couple of notable exceptions to that.

This year's All-NBA Teams are sure to feature LeBron James. After another brilliant, age-defying campaign, the NBA legend will surely make an appearance as a part of one of those lineups. The other should have been the All-Rookie Teams.

Dalton Knecht had a promising enough first season in the NBA to warrant recognition among his peers. However, when the league announced those on Tuesday afternoon, the Lakers rookie was nowhere to be found among the selections.

Instead, what Los Angeles and their fans got was a painful reminder of a noteworthy draft miss for the organization. One of the key spots on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team was taken up by a player who got drafted just a few selections after Knecht in the 2024 class.

All-Rookie voting results remind Lakers who they could have had

The Lakers sharpshooter off the bench had a solid rookie season. Knecht averaged 9.1 points, shooting 46-38-76, in 19.2 minutes per game during his 78 regular-season appearances for the team. That was enough to garner some All-Rookie consideration from the voters.

Out of 100 people deciding on who would receive the notable honors, 17 of them decided to give Knecht a second place vote. It ultimately was not enough as the 3-point marksman fell well short of Bub Carrington's 53-point total for the last spot.

Someone who did manage to secure a spot on the All-Rookie Second Team was Yves Missi, who was taken with the 21st overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. That was only a few spots after the Lakers had selected Knecht at 17.

Missi was a much-needed bright spot for the New Orleans Pelicans amid a disastrous 21-61 season in 2024-25. The rookie center averaged 9.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks in 26.8 minutes per game for the Pelicans.

Knecht was seen as a polished scorer, experiencing a draft slide, during the 2024 draft while many scouts believed Missi was a very raw prospect. There is some truth to be found in both of those sentiments, but even so, the early evaluations at the NBA level favor the Pelicans big man.

There is still plenty of time for Knecht to truly establish himself as a quality role player in the NBA and make fans forget all about the potential draft miss here. However, for a center-needy team like the Lakers, the 'what if' will only grow larger if Missi continues to outperform Knecht in the NBA.