“I give you my crown”: Anthony Davis heaps praise on ‘best ooter’ Dalton Knecht
Anthony Davis watched Dalton Knecht carry the LA Lakers in the third quarter of their team’s 124-118 win over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday. The rookie went 6-for-6 from deep with three free throws to light up the Jazz for 21 points in the said period. Knecht ended with nine triples and tied the NBA record for most 3-pointers in a single game by a rookie.
After the game, AD went on Instagram to give a shoutout to his teammate:
“I give you my crown as the best ooter on the team rook! @daltonknecht.”
![Anthony Davis giving Dalton Knecht his props on Instagram. [photo: @antdavis23/IG]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/5fff8-17321034564789-1920.jpg?w=500)
The No. 17 pick in the 2024 NBA draft responded:
“Preciate it O.G. ooter [handshake emoji].”
![Knecht's response to Davis' high praise. [photo: @antdavis23/IG]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2024/11/f5a68-17321035348296-1920.jpg)
Knecht was arguably the best shooter from this year’s draft class. Some draft experts predicted that he would make it to the top 10, but instead, he fell on the Lakers’ lap at No. 17. General manager Rob Pelinka and new coach JJ Redick jumped at the opportunity to grab him.
Dalton Knecht was a career 38.3% shooter from long-range in college. In his senior year at Tennessee, he shot 39.7% from behind the arc. He showed flashes of his outstanding marksmanship in limited minutes for the Lakers.
Since joining the starting lineup over the past four games, he averages 24.3 points per game on a staggering 68.9% clip from deep. Anthony Davis couldn’t help but give him the title of “best ooter” on the Lakers’ roster.
Dalton Knecht punished the Jazz for aggressively double-teaming Anthony Davis
Without Walker Kessler, the Utah Jazz knew they would have to help rookie Kyle Filipowski in defending Anthony Davis. When the Jazz played him one-on-one, AD feasted against whoever guarded him. He had 12 points early in the game, forcing Utah to commit more help to slow him down.
The Jazz adjusted in the third quarter and double-teamed Anthony Davis often. Utah’s strategy allowed the LA Lakers’ shooters, particularly Dalton Knecht, to go off. Starting the 3:29 mark of the period, the rookie hit three straight 3-pointers to break the game open. Knecht’s sixth triple pushed LA’s lead to 97-75.
Davis shone the limelight on the rookie for his impressive shooting. But Knecht had daylight to shoot because of all the attention Utah had to focus on stopping AD.