When you’re a veteran player like LeBron James who enters every year of his NBA career with a goal of winning the championship, and no time to build for the future, incoming rookies are rarely of much interest to you.

However, the player that the Los Angeles Lakers selected with the No. 17 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft on Wednesday night is someone who has caught James’ eye before.

Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht was one of the best players in the nation last year, taking the Volunteers on a deep run in the NCAA Tournament before his season came to an end.

Now that Knecht is a Laker, some of LeBron’s past comments about Knecht are coming to the surface.

“We watched that Purdue-Tennessee game because of Zach Edey and (Dalton) Knecht,” James said earlier this spring. “Players, depending on who they are, will drive attention when it comes to viewership.”

Knecht certainly has the attention of LeBron right now as he looks to play alongside the King and make a run at another championship in Los Angeles.