Photo: Lakers' Dalton Knecht Shows Off Signed Kevin Durant Jersey After Win vs. Suns

After a nice showing in the Los Angeles Lakers' 123-116 win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, Dalton Knecht left Crypto.com Arena with a souvenir from Kevin Durant.

The Lakers rookie got Durant's game-used jersey with an autograph from the 14-time All-Star.

The Lakers' decision to use the 17th pick in the 2024 NBA draft on Knecht looks terrific so far. He scored eight points on 2-of-4 shooting from three-point range and was plus-13 in 13 minutes against the Suns.

Knecht entered the NBA with a lot of hype around his touch as a shooter. He has only played 29 minutes in two games so far, but he has made three of his seven attempts behind the arc (42.9 percent).

When Knecht was interviewed on Spectrum SportsNet after the draft, he said that Durant was his favorite player and he has tried to emulate some aspects of his game after the future Hall of Famer (starts at 3:15 mark).

Durant was able to put on a good show for Knecht on Friday night. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-17 shooting, six assists and four rebounds in 39 minutes.

While no one is going to confuse Knecht for Durant on the court, his three-point shooting ability could be a huge addition for the Lakers in their quest to become a top-tier contender in the Western Conference.

The Lakers had the eighth-best three-point percentage (37.7) in the league last season, but they were only 24th in three-pointers made per game (11.7). They went 14-of-27 from behind the arc against the Suns.

Things will get more difficult for the Lakers when they start playing better defenses, but Knecht can hang out around the three-point line to catch open kickout passes when LeBron James drives to the basket.

If Knecht can make those at a high rate, the Lakers will have added a new dimension to their offense that hasn't really been present since James joined the team before the 2018-19 season.