“Everybody on the Internet called me a liar all the time. What am I now?”, said LeBron James, who was all praise for Dalton Knecht, in the aftermath of the recent Lakers-Jazz game. Since the preseason, the 23-year-old rookie has done most parts of living up to James’ expectations. This led to the creation of some unforgettable moments for teammates and Lakers fans, alike.

Today, he created another such moment by leading the Lakers to victory with his 37 points accumulated in 38 minutes. The 9-12 three-pointers helped Knecht to tie the NBA rookie record for the most 3s made in a single game! If winning one crown wasn’t enough, the rookie’s veteran teammate is now willing to bestow onto him another one!

In the aftermath of the Lakers matchup against the Utah Jazz, Anthony Davis took to his official Instagram account. The Center/Power Forward praised Dalton Knecht by highlighting a post with his stats on his IG story. Davis followed that up with a caption, “I give you my crown as the best ooter on the team rook! @daltonknecht”.

The man-of-the-hour didn’t waste time in responding to the praise. He reposted it on his own story with the caption “Preciate it O.G. ooter”, followed by a handshake emoji. This was nothing, but an appropriate example of a ‘Game Recognizes Game’ moment.

Through the 9 three-pointers, Dalton Knecht made the same number of shots, as a rookie, that Rodrigue Beaubois made in 2010. The same number of shots that Yogi Ferrell made in 2017, and Keyonte George made back in February 2024 itself. Along with the three-pointers, Knecht also went 12-16 with his field goals, and 4-5 with his free throws. As glimpses of the rookie’s prowess kept coming out, it generated waves of excitement throughout the Crypto. Com Arena.

After Knecht made a far-away shot to increase the Lakers’ lead to 91-73, LeBron James danced around in joy. Meanwhile, Davis, possibly in disbelief, clutched his head. From the looks of it, the Lakers certainly seem to have found their ‘LeSuccessor’.

Over the last few years, Anthony Davis has become to LeBron James what Scottie Pippen was to Michael Jordan. What Klay Thompson WAS to Stephen Curry (too soon?). Davis established himself as the secondary lead scorer thanks to his shooting ability. In his tenure with the Lakers, he has averaged 9.2-17.3 (53.5%) field goals showcasing his knack for shooting the ball.

Several reports credited him for further improvements in his shooting during this season itself. However, Dalton Knecht’s progress has been promising. Fortunately, the veteran doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, Davis has made it clear that the only direction he wants the rookie to go now is up.

Anthony Davis uses a mix of praise and criticism to highlight the expectations of Dalton Knecht

Before the 37-point performance, Dalton Knecht made a career-high 27 points against the New Orleans Pelicans. Touching base on the same, Anthony Davis revealed the rookie had come to a point where the Lakers squad, as a whole, expect him to contribute immensely to the offensive effort in every game.

“Anytime he shoots the ball I think it’s going in, that’s why we get so frustrated and upset when he doesn’t shoot,” said Davis. “He’s a great player. He can defend, he can shoot, he can put it on the floor, he can pass, so he can do it all. But when he has his stretches where he gets hot it’s a big boost for our team and we’re able to feed off that energy and most of the time we make a run off of it.”

According to Davis, Dalton Knecht’s big-time shots boosted the team’s confidence. It’s simply the reason, the Lakers look up to him to open up the offensive for others. If the past few games are any indication, then the Lakers have no problem with the small forward. The franchise may not have the best win record in the ongoing season.

However, with the potential Rookie of the Year by their side, the squad may collectively find success at the end of the road.