Dalton Knecht explosion inspires 'Quote of the Century' from Jazz head coach Will Hardy

Rookie small forward Dalton Knecht ran Utah Jazz ragged with his 37-point haul during the Los Angeles Lakers ' win Tuesday, and Jazz head coach Will Hardy dropped an all-time quote when speaking to reporters after the game.

It was a career-best performance from Knecht, who sunk nine three-pointers and took advantage of a Utah team that failed to guard him during the 124-118 rout at the Crypto.com Arena.

"It seemed like everybody in the gym knew that Dalton Knecht was going to shoot the next shot, with the exception of a few people ...

the problem was that those few people were on our team," Hardy said, in what a user on X, formerly Twitter, described as "Quote of the Century." Patrick Mahomes & Travis Kelce home raid part of 'sophisticated operation' as NBA star hit too LeBron James takes break from social media with Lakers star tired of 'hate and negativity' Knecht was the 17th overall pick by the LA Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft and signed with them in July 2024, having played college hoops for Tennessee and Northern Colorado.

His performances have already attracted the praise of LA Lakers superstar LeBron James , who could be seen celebrating Knecht's display against the Jazz.

For James, it wasn't a case of the Lakers managing to pluck Knecht from obscurity but every other franchise dropping the ball.

"They [Lakers front office] didn't find DK," he said.

"The other 16 teams f***** it up ...

anybody watch him? S***! They [the Lakers] just didn't f*** it up.

You don't 'find' an SEC player of the year," he said, referencing the award Knecht received in his final year in college basketball, in which the Southeastern Conference determined the 23-year-old to be the most outstanding player throughout the SEC.

James later added that he was not surprised at how Knecht performed in his rookie year, as he had had an eye on him since he played ball in Tennessee.

"I watched Tennessee a lot," the veteran said.

"I watched Tennessee a lot.

I did not think he was going to fall to us.

"I thought it would be impossible.

I have no idea how it happened.

But very grateful and very happy that he's here.

I knew exactly what we was getting." The Lakers now take on Orlando Magic in Southern California on Tuesday, before a Saturday game against Denver Nuggets .

The Jazz, meanwhile, hope to bounceback from the loss to the Lakers, and start guarding the right players, when they travels to San Antonio Spurs for Thursday's game.

Utah finishes the week back at home, welcoming the New York Knicks to the Delta Center in Salt Lake City..

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