From wearing blue and gold as a UNC Bear to purple and gold as a Los Angeles Laker, Dalton Knecht, ’23, (pronounced ‘connect’) has hit the jackpot with the opportunity he’s walking into to begin his professional basketball career.
On June 26, 2024, Knecht was drafted 17th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most storied organizations in all of professional sports.
Less than 18 months after playing his last home game in Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Knecht will play his first regular season NBA game in the famed Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles, previously known as the Staples Center. The arena that has iconic statues of NBA legends Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabar, Shaquille O’Neal and the late Kobe Bryant is the same arena Knecht will call home for the foreseeable future.
Knecht’s journey to the NBA is truly a once-in-a-decade-type of story.
An undersized guard playing high school basketball in Thornton, Colorado, Knecht wasn’t immediately on the radar of many college coaches. Despite the lack of attention from Division I and Division II coaches, Knecht was determined to play college basketball and found a landing spot at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling, Colorado. There, he played two seasons and earned National Junior College Athletic Association All-American honors as a sophomore, averaging 23.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.
Knecht’s success at the junior college level attracted the attention of UNC coaches, who were the first to offer him a Division I scholarship. Knecht played two seasons at UNC, where he quickly became a starter and key contributor for the Bears. In the 2022-23 season, as a senior, Knecht averaged 20.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. Knecht’s 20.2 points per game led the Big Sky Conference and ranked in the top 25 nationally.
Knecht graduated from UNC in May 2023, earning a bachelor’s degree in Communications. With an extra COVID-19 year of eligibility, Knecht elected to enter the transfer portal, where he became one of the most highly sought-after players in the country.
Knecht went from not receiving any Division I scholarship offers just four years prior to mulling offers from some of the most successful Division I programs in the country. Ultimately, Knecht landed at the University of Tennessee, where his success on the court continued to rise.
Using his fifth year of eligibility, Knecht wasted no time bursting onto the national scene, scoring 37 points against North Carolina in an early non-conference game. Despite the defensive pressure teams placed on him as the season went on, Knecht continued to flourish. He had 39-point games against SEC foes Florida and Auburn and scored a career-high 40 points against Kentucky.
Knecht finished the season in the top 10 nationally in scoring. He was named SEC Player of the Year, a consensus First Team All-American and was runner-up for the Associated Press’s National Player of the Year award.
“He’s an anomaly,” said Steve Smiley, UNC Men’s Basketball head coach. “This type of story just doesn’t happen. For him to chase his dreams and now be a first- round NBA draft pick, we are super proud of him.”
Knecht’s ascension from playing in junior college to the Big Sky Conference to the SEC and now the NBA has not come without hard work and many sacrifices.
“There are three types of players in college,” Smiley said. “Like it, love it and live it. The ‘live it’ guys — there are very few of those. Dalton is one of those guys. Dalton wants to live in the gym, he lives basketball. He’s going to keep getting better in the NBA too because he lives it.”
“He has a drive that is next level,” said Connor Creech, ’24, Knecht’s teammate at UNC and former roommate. “Nothing can stand in his way. He knew he was a first round pick, even if he was the only person who believed it. Northern Colorado helped prepare him to do what he did at Tennessee, but he’s been built for it his entire life.”
Knecht’s made-for-Hollywood story continues, fittingly, in L.A. where he will don a Laker jersey this season as a teammate to one of the greatest basketball players of all time, LeBron James.
“Instead of being locker neighbors with me in Greeley, he’s going to be locker neighbors with LeBron in L.A. — how cool is that?” Creech said. “There’s added pressure there, but he craves that. He’s going to make LeBron better – that might sound crazy, but it’s true. Dalton fits a role that they need, and he’s going to make a difference in a championship hunt for the Los Angeles Lakers.”
“Dalton’s story is an example of anything is possible that you set your mind to,” Smiley said. “We can tell recruits, ‘You can come here and whatever your dreams are, you can achieve them.’ A UNC graduate is now a Los Angeles Laker.”
- After suffering an injury in December 2021, Knecht embraced his role as the Bears’ top player off the bench, helping the Bears to a 22-16 record and a runner-up finish in the Big Sky Tournament.
- Knecht scored 20 or more points in 18 games at UNC during the 2022-23 season, including a then career-high 34 points against Idaho.
- After a standout season at Tennessee, Knecht was a finalist for the Naismith Trophy and the Wooden Award, both of which are awarded to the nation’s top college player.
- Selected 17th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft, Knecht becomes the highest NBA draft pick from Colorado since 1997.
