LeBron James Slams 76ers, Others for Passing Up on NBA Rookie

LeBron James got critical of 16 teams, including the 76ers, on Tuesday night.

Nov 16, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) looks on against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

One month into the NBA season, the Rookie of the Year race is beginning to heat up. Lately, Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain has been gaining a lot of steam as he’s been climbing the Philadelphia pecking order in the absence of Tyrese Maxey.

On Tuesday night, Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht put together a strong performance to add to his campaign as the Lakers took care of business against the Utah Jazz.

Checking in for 38 minutes as a starter, Knecht took 16 shots from the field at home against Utah. He made 75 percent of his attempts, draining a career-high nine threes. By the end of the night, Knecht had produced 37 points.

On draft night back in June, Knecht was a notable slider. Coming out of Tennessee, many NBA fans pounded the table for their franchise to take a chance on the sharpshooter. He ended up falling to 17. The Lakers were praised for the value they got that deep into the first round.

Knecht is justifying that praise—and LeBron James is calling out every team that didn’t select him before he landed on the Lakers—which includes the Sixers.

“[The Lakers] didn’t find DK. The other 16 teams [expletive] it up. Did anybody watch him? They just didn’t [expletive] it up,” James told reporters on Tuesday night.

LeBron James on the Lakers front office drafting Dalton Knecht: “They didn’t find DK … the other 16 teams f—-ed it up” pic.twitter.com/agmO547mnW

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) November 20, 2024

Right now, the Sixers are probably one of the few teams that don’t have to take that comment to heart with regret. Knecht might look excellent through 14 games, but the Sixers have his most notable Rookie of the Year competitor at the moment in McCain.

In 13 games, McCain started slow. Through the first two games of the season, he had just six minutes of playing time. By game three, McCain earned 17 minutes off the bench. He would average 14 minutes on the court when Tyrese Maxey was healthy.

On November 8, Maxey missed his first set of action this season, leading Nick Nurse to roll out McCain for over 30 minutes for the first time. An 18-point performance, followed by two 20-plus-point performances, called for a promotion to the starting lineup.

At this point, McCain has averaged 26 points on 46 percent shooting from three over the past three games as a starter. It’s unclear if he will stick around in the starting lineup when Maxey returns sometime soon, but it’s apparent he’s deserving of a rotational role, no matter what.

Rookies with a 30-point game this season:

Jared McCain
Zaccharie Risacher

And now, Dalton Knecht. pic.twitter.com/LI7hpQcc79

— StatMuse (@statmuse) November 20, 2024

As for Knecht, he’s earning his stripes early in Los Angeles. Prior to his first start, he averaged 15 minutes of playing time in seven games. Over the last three games, Knecht has collected a starting role and averaged 26 points on 62 percent shooting from three during that time.

Knecht might have some teams regretting their draft night decisions as LeBron suggests, but the same could be said about McCain as well.