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The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have benefitted from other team’s biases towards older NBA Draft prospects.
The Lakers were able to snag Dalton Knecht with the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and he has flourished early alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Brian Windhorst of ESPN reported that the 23-year-old’s age when entering the draft did turn some teams off and that the Lakers identified his skills and are reaping the benefits.
Scouts are skeptical about three-year college players, turned off by almost all four-year college players and usually slam the notebook on the mere idea of drafting a five-year college player like Knecht. Teams draft on upside and 23-year-olds and upside don’t go together, which is why scouts lowered Knecht on their draft boards. But the Lakers saw impressive measurables at the draft combine: a 6-foot-9 wingspan, a 39-inch vertical and the fastest shuttle run in the field. As one longtime talent evaluator pointed out: Knecht led the SEC in scoring last season, and the list of players who have done that — Pete Maravich, Bernard King, Shaquille O’Neal and Dominique Wilkins, among them — should’ve earned him more respect on draft night.
Tim Bontemps of ESPN expanded upon this and said that Knecht fits into a complimentary role with James very well and could be a major impact player as a rookie.
For nearly two decades, one of the best positions to be in as an NBA player was a jump shooter alongside LeBron James. Knecht has settled right into that role for the Lakers. And for a team that has been starving for scoring outside of James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D’Angelo Russell over the past two seasons, Knecht has a chance to make a real impact as a rookie.
An NBA scout also revealed to Bontemps that an older player with a bona fide NBA trait can find success.
“He’s proof of why it can work — if they have a sure NBA skill,” one scout told Bontemps. “He has one in his shot, and shooting is at a premium.”
Knecht is averaging 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 15 games for Los Angeles in 2024-25. More notably, howver, is the fact that he has reached double figures in five consecutive games and scored a whopping 37 points on Nov. 19 against the Utah Jazz.
His improvement has helped Los Angeles start the season 10-5 and the team currently sits in fourth place in the Western Conference. While his current pace could be hard to sustain, his improvement shows how well he fits into the Lakers system and shows that a team with a clear need should not be afraid of an older draft prospect.
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