The Los Angeles Lakers have found success by moving rookie Dalton Knecht into the starting lineup after Rui Hachimura got injured. Playing alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Austin Reaves, Knecht has quickly developed. He already scored 37 points in a game and tied a rookie NBA record with nine three-pointers.
One of the reasons for Knecht’s quick success is his chemistry with Reaves, both on and off the court. The two had a connection before Knecht joined the Lakers, and it’s clear on the court as well. Since Knecht joined the starting lineup, he and Reaves have the best net rating of any two-player combination on the team, with a 7.9 rating over the past four games.
Knecht feels confident shooting and playing his game because of the support from Reaves, who always believes in him. “Austin, like I’ve said before multiple times, he texted me throughout my time at Tennessee, so having him there, I can ask him any question and he’s always there to help me out.
Me and him shoot after practice ends every single day. When you have a guy like that that’s been in the league and does stuff like what I did, a guy that always stays confident in me and wants me to shoot the ball, it’s always good.”
Reaves, on the other hand, enjoyed watching Knecht’s big moment during the 37-point game. He spoke about their relationship and how he views Knecht’s potential. “It was phenomenal.
I was sitting on the bench in the fourth and honestly I thought I was gonna stay sitting on the bench in the fourth… But no, like I said on the radio out there, if you watched him in college, you know what he’s capable of.
When he sees a couple of his first shots go in, he can get in that mode where he’s unconscious. I kind of expect it from him because I’ve watched him a lot. So we’ll just continue to encourage him to do what he does.”
Reaves also shared some advice for Knecht but said he doesn’t really need it. “To be honest, I don’t think he needs any advice,” Reaves said. “Like I was talking about yesterday, he’s a killer. You challenge him with something and he accepts any challenge that you throw at him.
It can be anything, it can be guard better, whatever it is he’s gonna take the challenge head on. There was multiple times JJ was like ‘Are you ready to shoot?’ And he was like ‘I’m always ready to shoot.’ So he’s got a really good mindset for how he plays the game and like I said, he could have nights like he was tonight and get unconscious and win us games. That’s kind of what I expect him to do.”
The bond between Knecht and Reaves should only grow stronger as they continue to play together. Both players are great fits alongside James and Davis and complement each other well on offense.
Anthony Davis also spoke about Knecht’s impressive play. Knecht has been shooting 46.4% from three-point range this season, and in the last four games, he’s shooting an outstanding 67.7% from deep.
Many people believed the Lakers got a steal when they drafted Knecht, and Davis thinks the rookie has already shown the league what he can do.
“I mean, we all knew what he could do,” Davis said. “He’s more of a veteran player than a lot of rookies just because of his extended college career. We knew that he could play.
Just watching him play at Tennessee and we were actually watching him play in here a couple times before games so we knew what he was able to do. Obviously it’s a different translation when you come into the league but he seemed to adapt.
“His confidence is very high, even coming to camp and Summer League. He’s been phenomenal. Hopefully he can keep it going. He always talks about not getting foul calls but he’ll start getting fouls for sure. I know he has for sure put the league on notice. Not just shooting the ball but the way he’s playing in general.”
