Dalton Knecht didn’t take long to make his presence felt in New York.
In the first half of Wednesday’s game against the visiting Chicago Bulls at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks forward threw down a loud putback dunk after teammate Landry Shamet missed from behind the arc. It was the kind of finish that stops a building for a second, and it gave Knecht an immediate highlight in his first bucket with the Knicks.
Chicago’s defense lost track of the play, leaving Knecht alone with nobody boxing him out for the rebound. The Knicks, meanwhile, moved well enough to create the opening, with Shamet also finding space before a Bulls defender arrived too late to bother the shot.
Knecht, 25, arrived in New York after a rough stretch with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers selected him in the first round in 2024, but his role and minutes shrank, especially after a failed trade that would have sent him to the Charlotte Hornets ahead of the 2025 NBA trade deadline. He also spent time with the NBA G League before his time in Los Angeles came to an end.
That ended in October, when the Lakers waived him and he later signed a two-way deal with the reigning NBA champions Knicks.
To clear room for Knecht, New York waived former Kansas Jayhawks star Kevin McCullar Jr.
For a player looking to reset his NBA path, that first Knicks bucket came in the best possible form: a putback slam that announced him fast and loud.
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