Basketball superstar LeBron James expressed satisfaction with the Los Angeles Lakers using the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to acquire defender Dalton Knecht from the University of Tennessee.

Basketball superstar LeBron James expressed satisfaction with the Los Angeles Lakers using the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft to acquire defender Dalton Knecht from the University of Tennessee.

In an interview this spring in the Lakers’ locker room, James discussed how stars at the college level like Caitlin Clark in the women’s league or Zach Edey in the men’s league help boost their attendance. watch in the NCAA tournament.

“You’ll be watching Purdue because of Zach Edey,” James said. “Because he’s a great player. We watched the Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and Knecht. The players, depending on who they are, will attract attention when it comes to attendance. fake television.”

James didn’t go into detail about Knecht’s play on the field, but he got to know the 23-year-old defender during his first and only season at Tennessee.

The University of Tennessee fell short in the Elite Eight, losing to Purdue 72–66, but Knecht excelled in the national spotlight. In 37 minutes of play, Knecht scored 37 points, the highest on the team, with 14/31 shots on target and successful 6/10 three-point shots, clearly leaving a good impression on James.

Of course, there’s no guarantee that LeBron James will be Knecht’s teammate next season in Los Angeles. The 38-year-old has until Saturday to decide whether he wants to exercise his $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season. He can choose to continue playing for another season with the Lakers, or decline this option and sign a long-term contract with the Lakers or find a new home when becoming a free agent.

After selecting Knecht, the Lakers had the 25th pick in the second round. There was a lot of speculation before the draft that the Lakers could use that pick to bring in James’ eldest son, Bronny James.