Dalton Knecht just shrugged when he made his fourth straight 3-pointer, causing the Los Angeles Lakers’ arena to explode with excitement.
It wasn’t just any shrug, though. It was the famous shrug made by Michael Jordan during the 1992 NBA Finals after hitting a series of 3-pointers.
“Rui (Hachimura) was telling me I needed a 3-point celebration,” Knecht said. “I didn’t know what to do, so I just gave the shrug.”
That shrug is now a fitting answer to the question on many NBA fans’ minds after Knecht scored 37 points on Tuesday night: How did he fall to the Lakers with the 17th pick in the draft last summer?
Knecht lit up the Utah Jazz with nine 3-pointers in the Lakers’ 124-118 win, tying the record for most 3-pointers in a single game by a rookie. He got hot in the third quarter, hitting four straight 3s, followed by three free throws, another 3, and another triple to start the fourth.
“I just got in a groove,” Knecht said. “My teammates found me, and they were looking for me every time. They made it easy for me. I just had to get open and take the shot.”
Knecht scored 21 points in the third quarter, putting together 21 straight points for the Lakers across both the third and fourth quarters. He didn’t score again, but by that point, the Lakers had built a lead that Utah couldn’t overcome.
“He was phenomenal tonight,” Anthony Davis said. “When you’re hot like that, he’s special to watch. Anytime he’s shooting the ball like that, it definitely gives us energy.”
Knecht joined the Lakers’ starting lineup four games ago, and he’s been excellent in his expanded role. He’s averaging 24.3 points per game, shooting an impressive 21 for 31 from 3-point range.
The Lakers have spent years searching for a catch-and-shoot player to pair with Davis and LeBron James. Though it’s still early in the season, Knecht seems to be exactly what the Lakers have needed on the perimeter.
“His shot-making gets us going,” coach JJ Redick said. “It’s a real weapon for our group. Beyond just the score, it’s a weapon that energizes us.”
When Knecht gets in a rhythm like he did against Utah, it excites his teammates and even brings back memories for his rookie coach, who was known as a sharpshooter during his own NBA career.
“It’s the flow state,” Redick said. “You’re not thinking. You’re just perfectly in balance with the curvature of the earth, and the earth spinning on its axis a thousand miles an hour. You’ve let go, and the ball just feels weightless. It feels like everything is going to go in.”
Knecht is already an important player for the Lakers, who have had an impressive 10-4 start to the season. They’ve won six straight games, their longest streak in almost four years.
Knecht is also making front offices around the league second-guess their decisions for letting him slip to the Lakers at pick No. 17.
At the time, people thought two things were against Knecht: he was already 23 years old after five years in college, and he wasn’t seen as a strong defender.
Those concerns are quickly fading as Knecht continues to shine. He spent two years in junior college, two years at Northern Colorado, and then transferred to Tennessee for his final college season.
He was named an All-American and won SEC Player of the Year, averaging 21.7 points per game. His play caught the attention of the basketball world, including the Lakers’ locker room, where LeBron James and Davis watched his games and Austin Reaves became a texting buddy long before the Lakers drafted him.
“I did not think he was going to fall to us,” James said. “I thought it would be impossible. I have no idea how that happened, but I’m very grateful and very happy that he’s here. I knew exactly what we were getting when he fell to 17.”
