One of the stories of the NBA Draft was former Tennessee superstar Dalton Knecht falling all the way to the Los Angeles Lakers in the late teens. Fans and pundits couldn’t believe how one of the best players in college basketball slipped all the way down in the draft and now gets to team up with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
On Tuesday night, Knecht is proving those people right. During an NBA Cup group stage game against the Utah Jazz, Knecht went on an insane hot streak in the third quarter. The rookie sharpshooter knocked down four 3-pointers in a row before paying homage to the great Michael Jordan with a little shrug after the bucket.
DALTON KNECHT WITH 4 STRAIGHT THREESpic.twitter.com/zT3cgWmjQy
— Dime (@DimeUPROXX) November 20, 2024
Knecht wasn’t ready to stop there. he immediately splashed another three before sinking one more just after the fourth quarter started, giving him six threes in under four minutes of game time as the Lakers pulled away from the Jazz.
Many are saying Dalton Knecht pic.twitter.com/iNX9CqhUbA
— Nekias (Nuh-KY-us) Duncan (@NekiasNBA) November 20, 2024
Knecht scored the Lakers’ final 18 points of the third quarter and is in the midst of a career-high scoring and shooting night. While he was busy getting buckets, fans on social media couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
“I mean come on,” one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “With Dalton Knecht shooting like this ROY potential and more importantly someone for the Lakers to continue to turn to.” Another added, “We’re getting *Jordan Shrugs* in the Lakers game from Knecht!?”
Knecht is leading the way for the Lakers as they look to close out the Jazz and improve to 2-0 in NBA Cup play. If they’re able to close it out, it would keep the Lakers undefeated in NBA Cup games both this year and last season, when they won the entire tournament.
Knecht shooting the ball like this is a very positive sign for a Lakers team that desperately needs his shooting on the outside. Obviously not every night is going to look like this, but he will be a major factor in the rotation all season if he’s able to consistently knock down shots.
The post Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht’s Jordan shrug has fans losing their minds appeared first on ClutchPoints.