Where does Dalton Knecht rank in the NBA ROY Power Rankings?

It’s been a whirlwind year for Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht. The former transfer from Northern Colorado set college basketball on fire after transferring to Tennessee, winning unanimous SEC Player of the Year and leading the Volunteers to the second Elite Eight in program history.

Despite his incredible season, the First Team All-American then fell to 17th overall in the NBA Draft. The reason is more age than ability — at 23, Knecht was one of the oldest players in his class — but the Lakers are glad the sweet-shooting swingman fell to them.

Knecht has shown flashes of brilliance in his rookie year, starting with the 35 points he hung on the Phoenix Suns in the preseason finale. However, the start of the regular season brought him back down to earth as he averaged just 16.8 minutes and 6.1 points through his first 10 games.

The Lakers have dealt with injuries throughout the year, and Knecht stepped up in Rui Hachimura’s absence. He followed up his slow start by taking on a bigger role, both in terms of time on the pitch and scoring responsibilities. The second half of November was arguably the best stretch of any rookie this season, as Knecht averaged just under 19 points while playing over 31 minutes per game. match. His best game in that run was a 37-point effort to beat the Jazz, going 9-12 from three.

That streak helped Knecht become the second favorite in the Rookie of the Year race behind Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain, but he has fallen back to the pack with just a double-digit point total this month.

It’s to be expected that rookies are going to experience some ebbs and flows throughout the season, but luckily we have no shortage of Rookie of the Year power rankings out there to help us track every rise and fall of the league’s freshmen. With 26 games remaining and 56 remaining in the regular season, how does Knecht stack up against his fellow freshmen?

NBA.com’s Steve Aschburner officiates Kia Rookie Ladderand he has Knecht in sixth after an indeterminate week. McCain has been in pole position all year, and he is followed by Stephon Castle of the Spurs, who has improved offensively with double figures in 15 of his last 16 games.

In third place is Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells, who continues to impress with his two-way game. The 39th overall pick has been the Cinderella story of this Rookie of the Year race, and he’s a big reason why Memphis has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the Western Conference.

Rounding out the top five are Yves Missi of the Pelicans, who has stepped up as a big rebounder and defender for New Orleans’ injury-riddled roster, and Zaccharie Risacher, who has helped the Hawks become one of the hottest teams in the East.

Knecht was second to McCain in USA Today’s rookie power rankingsalthough it was last published on December 5. Still, it is instructive to remind us that much can change in a short time. As quickly as Knecht may have been passed over, he could just as quickly regain his footing with a couple of hot shooting nights.

This is a wide open race, which is no surprise considering this year’s draft had no consensus top five or even No. 1 choice. There is no Victor Wembanyama in this class, which has left the door open for more than half a dozen legitimate contenders.

Knecht was also sixth in Clutchpoints’ NBA Rookie Power Rankingswhich was published last week. Clutchpoints’ Brett Siegel had the same top five as NBA.com, though his 3-4-5 went to Risacher-Wells-Missi. Siegel points out that Knecht has looked like a favorite for this award at times, but cold shooting periods and fluctuations in his playing time have hurt his case.

While Knecht is clearly behind some of his fellow rookies who have been more impactful for their teams recently, his candidacy is alive and well due to the news that McCain tore the meniscus in his left knee against the Pacers on Friday. McCain has been the lone bright spot on a Sixers team that has dealt with one injury after another en route to a hugely disappointing 7-16 record, so it’s a real shame he’s out indefinitely.

Incredibly, the Lakers only have one Rookie of the Year winner in their history, and no, it’s not Jerry West, Magic Johnson, or Kobe Bryant. West lost to Walt Bellamy in 1962, Magic lost to Larry Bird in 1980 (though he went on to become the only rookie Finals MVP winner as the Lakers beat the 76ers for the title), and Kobe, who averaged just 7.6 points his rookie year, losing to Allen Iverson and others in 1997.

Elgin Baylor is the only Laker to win Rookie of the Year, and he did it back in 1959 when the team was still located in Minneapolis. This means that the Los Angeles Lakers have never had a Rookie of the Year award winner, which is impossible to believe for one of the NBA’s preeminent franchises.

Knecht can be the first, but he will have to pick up the pace. Fortunately, there is still plenty of time.