Private message revealed that Austin Reaves sent Dalton Knecht before they knew they would be teammates

Los Angeles Lakers players Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht were intimate with each other before the latter was even drafted by the organization in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft.

Back in December 2023, when Knecht was in the midst of a shooting slump while playing college basketball at the University of Tennessee, Reaves sent him a direct message and gave him some words of encouragement. It certainly wasn’t the only time they communicated (and it’s unclear if it was the first), but this particular message is still something on Knecht’s mind.

“DK, what’s up my man?” Reaves message Knecht. “Just wanted to reach out and say what’s going on? … Make sure we stay smarter. I’ll see and if you ever need anything, let me know. I’m around.”

Reaves recently provided some information about the origins of his relationship with Knecht.

“I happened to see him one day going crazy doing what he did in college, and obviously I was very impressed with the way he scores the ball,” Reaves said. “The way he wished his Tennessee team a lot of wins was special and I like to show my respect when I really like guys that have a lot of talent and he’s one of those guys .I wanted to write to him after the games I saw and congratulate him on the accolades he gave.

Knecht had perhaps the best performance of any NBA freshman so far this season in the Lakers’ NBA Cup win over Utah Jazz Tuesday evening. He scored 37 points, the most of any rookie in a single game since the start of the 2024–25 regular season, while shooting 12-of-16 from the field and 9-of-12 from 3-point range.

The 23-year-old’s display against the Jazz marked his second consecutive standout scoring performance. Towards the injured New Orleans Pelicans a few days earlier, he finished with 27 points and buried five 3s.

Knecht has been perhaps the Lakers’ most reliable 3-point shooter to this point, given the impressive combination of efficiency and volume with which he scores the ball from deep. He shoots a whopping 46.4 percent from 3 on 4.9 attempts per. competition.

The Lakers’ decision to draft Knecht with the 17th overall pick back in June has aged like fine wine after the former Tennessee standout got off to a rock-solid start to his first season in the NBA. Knecht has reached double-digit points in four of the last five games he has played for Los Angeles.

He will try to fill up the scoring column for the Lakers again when the team plays against Orlando Magic at the Crypto.com Arena on Thursday night. Los Angeles can extend its current winning streak to seven games with a win over the Magic, who are also currently riding a six-game winning streak.