Lakers first-round pick Dalton Knecht is one of the biggest steals of the season and he has spoken honestly about slipping down the ranks, after being expected to go top ten.

Shockingly, when draft day arrived, he was chosen by the Lakers as the 17th overall pick and he’s using it as fuel.

“There’s just more motivation that those teams slipped and the Lakers had full belief in me. No matter what, I’m going to put in the work. But it’s extra motivation for me to even keep putting in more work. Just like when I was a kid in Southern Colorado trying to make a D-1 team with all my guys out there [at Prairie View High School]. Nothing really changes. I’m staying who I am. I’m getting shots up in the gym. I try to take care of my body. I try to be the best overall team player that I can be,” Knecht told Sportskeeda’s Mike Media.

After one of the Lakers first games, Charles Barkley ripped the league’s general managers for letting him slip so low.

“First of all, these NBA General Managers don’t have any idea what they’re doing,” Barkley said on TNT’s Inside the NBA. “Letting the Lakers get Dalton Knecht was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever seen. That’s a bad boy right there. Dalton Knecht, remember that name y’all.”

The rookie has been impressive to start the season, averaging 7.7 points, 0.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists on 50 percent shooting from the field and 41.7 percent shooting from three in just 16.3 minutes.

“I’m just going to go out and hoop,” Knecht said. “I’ll be who I am and do whatever the team needs me to do. I’ll go out and compete. I’ll always have a chip on my shoulder, whether they drafted me or not. If I’m not their team, I’ll have a chip no matter what. If I’m playing any team, I’m going to have a chip on my shoulder because that’s who I am.”