LeBron James Complimented Lakers Draft Pick Dalton Knecht in Past Interview

The Lakers star tuned in to catch one of Dalton Knecht's games this spring.

Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht reacts after a play during an Elite Eight matchup against Purdue in the NCAA tournament. / Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

It appears superstar LeBron James likely approves of the Los Angeles Lakers using the No. 17 pick of the 2024 NBA draft to select Tennessee guard Dalton Knecht.

During a interview this spring in the Lakers' locker room, James discussed how individual collegiate stars—like Caitlin Clark in the women's game or Zach Edey in the men's game—help steer ratings during the NCAA tournament.

"You're going to watch Purdue because of Zach Edey," James said. "Because he's a great player. We watched that Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht. Players, depending on who they are, will drive the attention when it comes to [television] viewership."

LeBron James was praising Dalton Knecht months ago!

pic.twitter.com/hUCfhpRWLu

— Darren M. Haynes (@DarrenMHaynes) June 27, 2024

James didn't go into detail about Knecht's game on the floor, but he was aware of the 23-year-old guard during his first and only season at Tennessee.

The Volunteers fell short in that Elite Eight matchup, falling to Purdue 72–66, but Knecht put on a show in the national spotlight. In 37 minutes, Knecht scored a team-high 37 points on 14-of-31 shooting and drained 6-of-10 attempts from three-point range, clearly making a good impression on James.

James, of course, isn't guaranteed to be Knecht's teammate next season in Los Angeles. James has until Saturday to decide if he wants to exercise the $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. He could opt-in and play one more season with the Lakers, or decline the player option and either sign a long-term deal with the Lakers or look for a new basketball home in free agency.

After drafting Knecht on Wednesday night, the Lakers own the No. 25 pick in the second round (No. 55 overall) on Thursday. There was plenty of speculation leading up to the draft that the Lakers could use that pick to select James's oldest son, Bronny James.