Where ESPN projects Dalton Knecht in the NBA Draft after the lottery
The NBA Draft order was set Sunday and Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht is still projected to be a lottery pick, according to the latest NBA mock draft from ESPN. The NBA Draft Lottery was held Sunday afternoon, with the Atlanta Hawks winning the No. 1 overall pick.
ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected all 58 draft picks after the lottery, with Knecht going at No. 8 overall to the San Antonio Spurs, after the franchise picked Kentucky’s Robert Dillingham at No. 4 overall.
“After addressing their point guard situation with the No. 4 pick,” Givony wrote, “it might make sense for the Spurs to look at adding shooting to their roster to give Victor Wembanyama ample spacing to maximize his offensive gifts.
“The Spurs surely have eyes on being competitive sooner rather than later with Wembanyama about to become an MVP candidate in the near future, so picking a 23-year old plug-and-play shooter/scorer such as Knecht looks like an attractive option. His defensive shortcomings can be mitigated to an extent playing behind a future Defensive Player of the Year like Wembanyama.”
Knecht would be Tennessee Basketball’s first lottery pick since Marcus Haislip went at No. 13 overall to the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2002 NBA Draft. Tobias Harris is the highest pick since then, going at No. 19 overall in 2011.
Dalton Knecht: Consensus First Team All-American, SEC Player of the Year, Naismith award finalist
Knecht, the 6-foot-6 Northern Colorado transfer, starred for Tennessee in his one and only season with the Vols, earning consensus First Team All-American honors and finishing as a finalist for the Naismith Player of the Year award. He averaged 21.1 points per game last season and averaged 25.5 per game in SEC play, helping him win the SEC Player of the Year award while also being named First Team All-SEC.
Knecht scored a career-high 40 points in Tennessee’s 85-81 loss to Kentucky on March 9 at Thompson-Boling Arena and had 37 in the Elite Eight loss to Purdue on March 31, setting a new Tennessee NCAA Tournament scoring record. He scored 103 points over four games in the NCAA Tournament, setting another Tennessee record.
In 31 games during the regular season, he scored 25 or more points 10 time this season, 30 or more points seven times, 35 or more points five times and 39 or more points four times, with two 39-point games to go with the 40 he scored against Kentucky.
25.5 points per game in SEC play was highest in the league in 22 seasons
Knecht’s 21.1 points points per game came on 46.1% from the field and 39.1% from the 3-point line. He added 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, too.
He averaged 24.8 points in true road games, shooting 50.8% from the field and 43.0% from the 3-point line. He had 13 or more points in all 11 road games this season and had 22 or more in eight road games and 32 or more in three road games.
Knecht’s 25.5 points per game in SEC play during the regular season made him the league’s highest-scoring player over the last 22 seasons. He was also the highest scoring player in conference play for any Division I team this season and was the highest scoring player from any Power 6 conference since 2019-20.
