Inside The Heat

LeBron James Gets It Right With Dalton Knecht 10 Years After Shabazz Napier Fumble?

Shandel Richardson

Mar 6, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Miami Heat guard Shabazz Napier (13) dribbles the ball against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images
Mar 6, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Miami Heat guard Shabazz Napier (13) dribbles the ball against the Washington Wizards during the second half at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-Imagn Images / Brad Mills-Imagn Images
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Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James took a victory lap after rookie Dalton Knecht's breakout performance Tuesday.

Knecht had a career-high 37 points, including a rookie record nine 3-pointers, in the victory. He is now considered the steal of the draft after being chosen at No. 17 by the Lakers.

James blamed the other teams for passing on Knecht.

"They didn’t find DK … the other 16 teams [expletive] it up," James said of Knecht. "Did anyone watch him? What the [expletive]? [Expletive] they just didn't [expletive] it up."

James and Knecht were first linked last April during the NCAA Tournament. James said Knecht was one of the reasons for watching the Elite Eight.


“We watched that Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht.” James said.

This wasn't the first time James endorsed a player before the draft. He did the same in 2014 when he was with the Miami Heat. He gave a shout out to UConn guard Shabazz Napier, who was coming off winning a title.

"My favorite player in the draft! #Napier," James wrote on X.

The Heat traded the Charlotte Hornets on draft day for Napier shortly after. Many felt it was the Heat's way of trying to keep James, who was set to become a free agent later that summer. It wasn't enough because James left the Heat so he could return to Cleveland.

The Heat were left with Napier, who only spent one uneventful season in Miami before being traded to Orlando. He was out of the league by 2020.

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here