LeBron James fired a shot at his haters after Dalton Knecht starred for the Los Angeles Lakers in their 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. James had praised Knecht during his time at Tennessee and when asked in his postgame interview what he had seen from the youngster then, he hilariously called out those who accuse him of lying.
“I don’t know. The same s*** I said last year,” James said. “Everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time. They say I lie about every-f***ing-thing. So what am I now? I’ve been said it. I watched him, I watched Tennessee a lot.
“I did not think he was going to fall to us,” James added. “I thought it would be impossible. I have no idea how that happened but very grateful and very happy that he’s here. I knew exactly what we was getting when he fell to 17.”
LeBron on what he saw in Dalton Knecht last season when he praised him while he was at Tennessee: “I don’t know. The same shit I said last year. Everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time. They say I lie about every-fucking-thing. So what am I now? I’ve been said it.” pic.twitter.com/bPBU1VJGiB
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 20, 2024
James has been accused of lying plenty of times. One of the notable instances was when LeBron claimed he told a friend that Kobe Bryant was going to get 70 points before the game against the Toronto Raptors, where he scored 81.
Not many bought that, but you can’t accuse James of lying this time. He saw something special in Knecht and the rookie delivered a special performance against the Jazz. The 23-year-old finished with a career-high 37 points to go with five rebounds and a steal in the contest to help the Lakers get to 10-4 on the season.
Knecht was very efficient too, as he went 12-16 from the field, 9-12 from three, and 4-5 from the line. Those nine threes meant he tied the single-game rookie record and at this point, you wouldn’t bet against him getting to double figures at some point in this 2024-25 season.
James, who had 26 points, two rebounds, and 12 assists against the Jazz, was also asked about the Lakers front office finally “finding” a shooter like Knecht that they really needed, with the 17th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft. In response, the 39-year-old hilariously made it clear they didn’t have to find him and that this was a case of other teams messing up.
“They didn’t find DK. The other 16 teams f***ed it up. Did anybody watch him? What the f***? S***. They just didn’t f*** it up.”
LeBron James on the Lakers’ front office finding Dalton Knecht with the No. 17 pick: “They didn’t find DK. The other 16 teams fucked it up. Did anybody watch him? What the fuck? Shit. They just didn’t fuck it up.” pic.twitter.com/9C5658kSWB
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 20, 2024
After transferring from Northern Colorado, Knecht averaged 21.7 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in his senior season at Tennessee. His displays saw him being named SEC Player of the Year and it was expected that he’d be a lottery pick in the 2024 Draft.
That didn’t happen, however, as Knecht slid and the Lakers were thrilled to get him at 17th. The reason he went that low was probably because of the fact that he played three seasons in college.
Many teams today prefer to go after the one-and-done’s as they are enamored by the potential of such prospects. The Lakers, meanwhile, went after someone who had proven he could put the ball in the basket and have been rewarded for it.
Someone who knows all about putting the ball in the basket from beyond the arc is Lakers head coach JJ Redick. Postgame, Redick was asked what it feels like to get hot the way Knecht did against the Jazz and gave quite an answer.
“It’s just 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.
“It’s fun when you’re in that state because you can miss a shot and it doesn’t weigh on you at all,” Redick stated. “You’re just ready for the next one.”
Redick will be hoping Knecht is in that state in the Lakers’ next game as well, as they take on the Orlando Magic at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10:30 PM ET. Both the Lakers and the Magic are currently on six-game winning streaks and it should be a thrilling contest.
Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News. We really appreciate your support.
