Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht has been through a lot in the past few weeks after being told he was traded to the Charlotte Hornets and then eventually sent back to L.A.

At the NBA trade deadline, the Los Angeles Lakers sent Dalton Knecht to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for big man Mark Williams. This trade came as a bit of a shock since Knecht was in the midst of a solid rookie season, but the Hornets center projected to serve as a lob threat for Luka Doncic.

Team C has won the Rising Stars competition at All-Star weekend and advanced to take on LeBron James, Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant in an All-Star Game semifinal.

It's been an active February for rookie Los Angeles Lakers sharpshooter Dalton Knecht. The former Tennessee All-American was selected with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft last summer, and made an instant splash as a jump-shooting role player for first-year head coach JJ Redick's Lakers.

Even though LeBron James wasn’t able to play in the 2025 NBA All-Star Game, the Los Angeles Lakers organization was still represented as rookie Dalton Knecht got to play with the Rising Stars team.

LeBron James didn't take part in the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday when his team was set to take on the Rising Stars, but Los Angeles Lakers fans did get to see rookie sharpshooter Dalton Knecht in action during that matchup.

The NBA debuted a new All-Star Game tournament-style format format on Sunday. With four different teams, the NBA split the 24 All-Stars into three eight-player teams, adding the winner of the Rising Stars Game to Sunday's tournament.

The NBA All-Star Weekend festivities are getting underway on Friday night with the Celebrity game and the Rising Stars Game as the game’s biggest figures get together in San Francisco for the midseason hiatus.