Where does Dalton Knecht rank among NBA ROY Power Rankings?

It's been a whirlwind year for Los Angeles Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht. The former Northern Colorado transfer lit the college basketball ablaze after transferring to Tennessee, unanimously winning SEC Player of the Year and leading the Volunteers to the second Elite Eight in program history.

Despite his incredible season, the First Team All-American then slipped to 17th in the NBA Draft. The reason is more age than ability — at 23, Knecht was one of the oldest players in his class — but the Lakers are glad that the sweet-shooting swingman fell to them.

Knecht has shown flashes of brilliance in his rookie year, beginning with the 35 points he hung on the Phoenix Suns in the preseason finale. The beginning of the regular season brought him back to earth though, as he averaged only 16.8 minutes and 6.1 points through his first 10 games.

The Lakers have dealt with injuries throughout the year, and Knecht stepped up in the absence of Rui Hachimura. He followed up his slow start by assuming a larger role, both in terms of time on the court and scoring responsibility. The second half of November was arguably the best stretch by any rookie this season, as Knecht averaged just under 19 points while playing over 31 minutes per game. His best game on that run was a 37-point effort to beat the Jazz in which he went 9-12 from three.

That streak helped Knecht become the second favorite in the Rookie of the Year race behind Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain, but he's fallen back to the pack with just one double-digit point total this month.

It's to be expected that rookies are going to experience some ebbs and flows throughout the season, but luckily we have no shortage of Rookie of the Year power rankings out there to help us track every rise and fall from the league's freshmen. With 26 games down and 56 to go in the regular season, how does Knecht stack up to his fellow first-years?

Dalton Knecht Rookie of the Year power rankings round-up

NBA.com's Steve Aschburner runs the Kia Rookie Ladder, and he has Knecht at sixth following a nondescript week. McCain has been in pole position all year long, and he's followed by Stephon Castle of the Spurs, who's developed offensively with double figures in 15 of his last 16 games.

In third place is Grizzlies forward Jaylen Wells, who continues to impress with his two-way game. The 39th overall pick has been the Cinderella story of this Rookie of the Year race, and he's a big reason why Memphis has been one of the most pleasant surprises in the Western Conference.

Rounding out the top five are Yves Missi of the Pelicans, who has stepped up as a big-time rebounder and defender for New Orleans' injury-addled roster, and Zaccharie Risacher, who has helped the Hawks become one of the hottest teams in the East.

Knecht sat second behind McCain in USA Today's rookie power rankings, though that was last published on Dec. 5. Still, it's instructive to remind us that a lot can change in a short period of time. As quickly as Knecht may have been passed, he could just as swiftly regain his footing with a couple of hot shooting nights.

This is a wide-open race, which is no surprise considering that this year's draft had no consensus top five or even No. 1 pick. There's no Victor Wembanyama in this class, which has left the door open to more than half a dozen legitimate contenders.

Knecht was also sixth in Clutchpoints' NBA Rookie Power Rankings, which was published last week. Clutchpoints' Brett Siegel had the same top five as NBA.com, though his 3-4-5 went Risacher-Wells-Missi. Siegel points out that Knecht has looked like a favorite for this award at times, but cold shooting spells and fluctuations in his playing time have hurt his case.

Though Knecht is clearly behind some of his fellow rookies who have been more impactful for their teams lately, his candidacy is alive and well due to the news that McCain tore the meniscus in his left knee against the Pacers on Friday. McCain has been the lone bright spot on a Sixers team that has dealt with one injury after another on their way to a hugely disappointing 7-16 record, so it's really a shame that he's going to be out indefinitely.

Incredibly, the Lakers have only one Rookie of the Year winner in their history, and no, it's not Jerry West, Magic Johnson or Kobe Bryant. West lost to Walt Bellamy in 1962, Magic lost to Larry Bird in 1980 (though he went on to become the only rookie Finals MVP winner as the Lakers beat the 76ers for the title), and Kobe, who only averaged 7.6 points his rookie year, lost to Allen Iverson and others in 1997.

Elgin Baylor is the only Laker to win Rookie of the Year, and he did it back in 1959 when the team was still located in Minneapolis. That means that the Los Angeles Lakers have never had a Rookie of the Year award winner, which is impossible to believe for one of the NBA's preeminent franchises.

Knecht could become the first, but he'll need to pick up the pace. Luckily, there's still plenty of time.