Austin Reaves Talks Origin Of Relationship With Dalton Knecht & Excitement When Lakers Drafted Him https://t.co/VpVq4Q1Rtx
— LakerTom (@LakerTom) November 19, 2024
Dalton Knecht was viewed as one of the biggest steals in this year’s draft, falling to the Los Angeles Lakers with the 17th overall pick. And recently, he has begun to find his stride after a bit of a slow start, giving the Lakers the offensive boost off the bench the team needs.
He has also endeared himself to his teammates and the coaches, all of whom have spoken highly of him since the offseason. But perhaps his closest relationship is with guard Austin Reaves.
In fact, this stretches back to Knecht’s time in college at the University of Tennessee as Reaves revealed that he noticed his play there and began texting him after games.
“I just randomly one day saw him going crazy doing what he did in college and obviously I was very impressed with the way he scores the ball,” Reaves said after practice on Monday. “The way he willed his Tennessee team to a lot of wins was special and I like to show my respects when I really like guys that have a lot of talent, and he’s one of those guys. I would text him after games that I saw and congratulate him on the accolades that he was putting up. That’s really it.”
Reaves and many others were impressed by Knecht’s season in Tennessee, where he would win SEC Player of the Year. Most expected Knecht to be drafted in the top 10, but as he continued to drop and eventually the Lakers were on the board, Reaves felt the choice was obvious.