LeBron James believed in Dalton Knecht long before the Los Angeles Lakers drafted the Tennessee product, and that was no lie.
Knecht looks like the steal of the NBA Draft and that was on full display Tuesday night, when he led the Lakers with 37 points, including a stretch where he scored 18 straight during their win against the Utah Jazz.
After watching the performance up close, James was asked what he saw in Knecht last year and what he sees now during his rookie season. The question prompted James to take a victory lap for knowing the Lakers draft selection would be a steal, while mocking his critics who always accuse him of being a liar.
LeBron on what he saw in Dalton Knecht last season when he praised him while he was at Tennessee: “I don’t know. The same shit I said last year. Everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time. They say I lie about every-fucking-thing. So what am I now? I’ve been said it.” pic.twitter.com/bPBU1VJGiB
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 20, 2024
“I don’t know,” James said. “The same s*** I said last year. And everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time. They say I lie about every f***ing thing. So what am I now? I’ve been said it. I watched him. I watched Tennessee a lot.”
James has been accused of lying about a lot of weird things throughout his career. Like claiming he predicted Kobe Bryant was going to score 70 points the night he put up 81 against the Toronto Raptors. Or the time he claimed to love The Godfather, but strangely couldn’t pick a favorite scene, phrase or quote. Similarly, there was the time he struggled tried to offer his biggest takeaway while reading The Autobiography of Malcom X.
But in the case of Dalton Knecht, James can rebuke any claims that he’s a liar with receipts. Last season, LeBron explained how star power drive’s college basketball, adding that people tuned into the Elite Eight matchup between Purdue and Tennessee because it featured Zach Edey and Dalton Knecht. Both players are currently in the running for NBA Rookie of the Year, the latter doing it as James’ teammate with the Lakers.
