Dalton Knecht’s winding journey to the NBA found its endpoint — finally.
The Prairie View High School product, whose college path included stops at Northeastern Junior College (Sterling), Northern Colorado and Tennessee, was chosen 17th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the NBA draft on Wednesday night in Brooklyn.
With L.A.’s selection, Knecht became the first Colorado high school basketball player to be drafted in the top 17 picks since Chauncey Billups was taken third overall by the Boston Celtics in 1997. Knecht is the 27th Colorado prep to be chosen in the NBA draft, according to CHSAANow.com, and the 15th taken in the first round.
It didn’t come without a little drama, however.
Projected to be taken in the lottery, Knecht instead fell into the Lakers’ laps at No. 17. But given the voyage it took for Knecht to get there, it was well worth the wait.
A native of Thornton, Knecht hit a growth spurt during the latter stages of his high school career. That and lagging grades kept him from going Division I right away. But after two years at Northeastern Junior College, Knecht transferred to Northern Colorado and led the Big Sky in scoring (20.2 ppg) his second and final season in Greeley.
Knecht then raised his profile by leading Tennessee to the Elite Eight this past winter, averaging 21.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game on 45.8% shooting as the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American.
Now he joins the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James, who just got a new head coach in JJ Redick.
Colorado preps in first round of NBA draft
Name
High School
RD-OV
Team
Year
Dalton Knecht
Prairie View
1-17
L.A. Lakers
2024
Derrick White
Legend
1-29
San Antonio
2017
Reggie Jackson
Palmer
1-24
Oklahoma City
2011
Jason Smith
Platte Valley
1-20
Miami
2007
Pat Garrity
Lewis-Palmer
1-19
Milwaukee
1998
Chauncey Billups
George Washington
1-3
Boston
1997
Brooks Thompson
Littleton
1-27
Orlando
1994
Mark Randall
Cherry Creek
1-26
Chicago
1991
Bill Garnett
Regis Jesuit
1-4
Dallas
1982
Tom Chambers
Fairview
1-8
San Diego
1981
Joe Barry Carroll
Denver East
1-1
Golden State
1980
Michael Ray Richardson
Manual
1-4
New York
1978
Scott Wedman
Mullen
1-6
Kansas City
1974
Ron Shavlik
Denver East
1-4
New York
1956
Chuck Darling
Denver South
1-9
Rochester
1952
Source: CHSAANow.com
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