Dalton Knecht reveals how his viral 'shrug' celebration came about during breakout performance vs Jazz

Dalton Knecht announced himself on Tuesday night as the LA Lakers beat the Utah Jazz, hitting a shrug after sealing the 124-118 win with a 22-foot 3-point jumper. The rookie's celebration after his game-winning 3 has since gone viral, and he explained how it came about during his postgame conference.

"I mean, I don't know, Rui was talking to me about I need to get a 3-point celebration, so I didn't know what to do. So I just gave the shrug," Knecht said with a smile on his face.

Starting the game in the absence of Rui Hachimura, Knecht went off on the Jazz and recorded 37 points and five assists in a breakout performance. Exploding in the third quarter with 21 points, Knecht rained 3s on the Jazz as he made nine of his 12 attempted 3s.

The Lakers picked the 23-year-old as the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA draft. Since his debut against the Minnesota Timberwolves in a 110-103 win on Oct. 22, the youngster has grown steadily and had a night to remember on Tuesday.

Dalton Knecht makes history with his 3-point prowess

Former Tennessee Volunteers standout Dalton Knecht has proved to be the right pick for the LA Lakers. Even star LeBron James spoke about how LA "found" DK in the draft during his postgame interview on Tuesday.

"They didn't 'find' DK," James said. "The other 16 teams f**ked it up. Did anybody watch him? S**t. They just didn't f**k it up. You don't 'find' a SEC player of the year."

Dalton Knecht also etched his name into the history books with his performance against the Utah Jazz, tying the record for most 3-pointers by a rookie in a single game. Knecht became only the fourth player to score nine 3s in a game in his debut season, joining the likes of Keyonte George, Yogi Ferrell and Rodrigue Beaubois.

Rui Hacimura is still out injured, and this will serve as an opportunity for Dalton Knecht to shine. With a coach like JJ Reddick to guide him, fans could see him break another record.

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