The Lakers' rookie shines in his regular season debut

In his first official NBA appearance, Dalton Knecht – a JUCO player a few seasons ago – was a bright spot in an already brilliant victory for the Los Angeles Lakers.

In 16 minutes against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Knecht scored just five points on 50% shooting, but he did so in a timely manner and looked like a veteran player facing a rookie in the first game of the regular season.

Additionally, he added two dimes, a rebound and a steal in the finish, with a plus-minus of +7 off the bench. He would be the team's only bench player to finish with a positive plus-minus.

In the first half, Knecht provided the spark almost immediately from the bench and quickly scored all of his points, including a long-range three-pointer. In the first few seconds after coming on, he showed his willingness to pass and mastered the pick-and-roll with Jaxson Hayes perfectly.

While his stats weren't flashy, the story of the night for Knecht was simply his preparedness: Even the league's best rookies had shaky debut performances, but the team's first-rounder showed true poise.

The former Volunteer, selected 17th overall, was one of the biggest winners of the 2024 NBA Draft and was considered by many to be a late pick or even a top-10 pick. On draft night, however, one team after another passed on the 6-foot-2 winger, likely due to his age as one of the older players in the class.

Now Knecht will play a big role for the Lakers, shooting open triples, using his athleticism around the rim and making plays where he can, like he did in Tuesday night's win. He will undoubtedly have stronger games than he did on Tuesday, but his flawless play was still a welcome sight for Lakers fans.

If there was any indication in the preseason, he should be ready to make an impact right from the start. In the penultimate preseason game, Knecht scored a whopping 35 points, including 20 in a row from the fourth quarter to overtime.

After picking up a win over Minnesota thanks to a monster performance from Anthony Davis, the Lakers will face Kevin Durant and his Western Conference rivals, the Phoenix Suns, on Friday, October 25, at 9 p.m.

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