"Give him ROY": NBA fans view Lakers hotshot rookie Dalton Knecht as the only bright spark among "worst" draft class
Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht had his best game of the season yet against the Cleveland Cavaliers and fans were ready to anoint him Rookie of the Year already.
The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter from Tennessee scored 18 points, three rebounds, and one assist on 50% shooting against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night in a 134-110 loss for the Lakers.
Here's how NBA fans on X (formerly Twitter reacted):
"Just give him the ROY" - commented one fan
"Absolute steal" - said another fan
It took five games into the season for a rookie to breach more than 15 points and to record more than 30 minutes in a game, according to statistician Tom Haberstroh of Yahoo Sports. Never have we gone this deep into a season with a rookie failing to score a measly 15 points in a game. Fans were surprised by Dalton Knecht becoming the joint-first rookie to breach this mark in 2024.
"That's wild" - exclaimed one surprised fan
Dalton Knecht's achievement seemed to open the floodgates a bit as both Bub Carrington and Zaccharie Risacher scored 16 and 17 points respectively in the concurrent Wizards vs Hawks contest held earlier in the day. This was not sufficient to impress NBA fans.
"This class is so ass" - Vented one disappointed fan
"This one of the worst draft classes I ever seen" - echoed another fan
"First to 25 wins" - Joked another fan
Dalton Knecht is the only bright spot in a rookie class failing to impress
Dalton Knecht has averaged 8.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in five games this season despite falling to pick 17 in the NBA Draft. He has shot the ball well while maintaining a 100% record from the charity stripe this season.
There is a growing sense of overall disappointment with the rest of the draft class, which has been described as the most underwhelming in years, and a far cry from the 2023 draft class headed by Victor Wembanyama.
The consensus Rookie of the Year pick in the preseason, Reed Sheppard, has been struggling to find his feet on the Houston Rockets team, which has too many players currently. He has seen his minutes progressively dwindle game after game, which is not a great sign this early in the season.
Zach Edey, the 7'4" big man from the Memphis Grizzlies, is currently the most popular pick for Rookie of the Year. But even he has struggled with fouls early into the season and is yet to show his much-hyped blocking prowess. Five games into the season, he has the same number of blocks as 6'0 tall Chris Paul and is averaging only 16.6 minutes per game.
If Dalton Knecht continues his early season trajectory, he could be one to watch out for come award season.