Dalton Knecht named to Rising Stars roster at All-Star weekend

The Lakers will have a representative at the Rising Stars games this year as Dalton Knecht has been named to the player pool.

After years of not being represented in the Rising Stars game, the Lakers will see a rookie take the court on Friday of All-Star weekend.

Rookie Dalton Knecht was named to the Rising Stars player pool, as announced by Shams Charania of ESPN on Tuesday.

Knecht has had an up-and-down rookie campaign. Early in the season, he was incredible, highlighted by his 37-point showing against the Jazz.

Over the course of the season, Knecht is averaging 9.1 points and 3.1 rebounds in 20.9 minutes per game.

Knecht is the 13th Laker rookie to be named to the Rising Stars game. Technically, the most recent to participate in the game was Scotty Pippen Jr., but that was as a member of the G League team.

Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kuzma were the last players as members of the parent Lakers to be selected for the game. That came back in 2019, and it was the first of several consecutive seasons in which Lonzo, Kuzma, Brandon Ingram, D’Angelo Russell, and Jordan Clarkson appeared in games.

The format of the Rising Stars game will largely mirror that of the actual All-Star game. Four teams will play a mini-tournament with the champion earning a spot in Sunday’s tournament against the All-Star teams.

Theoretically, then, Knecht could play against one of, or both, Anthony Davis and LeBron James during All-Star weekend. Whatever happens, though, it’s a well-deserved honor for Knecht.

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