Ice Cube’s son takes playful jab at Snoop Dogg’s 'Westside Knecht' moniker for Lakers rookie

Rapper Ice Cube's son, actor O'Shea Jackson Jr., got a kick out of Snoop Dogg's moniker for LA Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht and could not help but dish out a playful jab at it.

Snoop gave the 17th overall pick in this year's NBA Draft the nickname "Westside Knecht" after his scintillating performance in the Lakers' preseason game against the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. The former Tennessee standout scored 20 straight points at one point for the Lakers to finish with 35 points and steer his team to a 128-122 overtime victory.

"Westside Knecht" appears to pay homage to Ice Cube's iconic hip-hop supergroup, Westside Connection, which featured Mack 10 and WC. O'Shea Jackson Jr. humorously cautioned against creating "Westside Knecht" merchandise without his father's consent, posting on X (formerly Twitter):

"Lmao literally my dad's group. If yall don't hear it from him. Don't be making no merch lmfaooo."

Dalton Knecht was in the zone for the Lakers down the stretch against the Suns. He scored the team's last seven points in regulation and the first 13 in overtime to help tow the purple and gold to the hard-earned victory. He scored 35 points, sharing game-high honors with Anthony Davis, went 8-for-13 from deep and had 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 32 minutes.

The win was the second in five games for the Lakers in preseason play. They finish their assignments on Friday against the Golden State Warriors on the road.

Dalton Knecht says he was in a groove in win vs Suns

Lakers rookie Dalton Knecht felt confident during his breakout performance against the Suns, where he poured in 35 points, including a remarkable 20 straight during the game. After the win, Knecht spoke about how he found his rhythm on the court.

He said (via Spectrum SportsNet):

"Just shoot it. That's all I was doing was just trying to get open looks and my teammates were giving me the ball and getting me open, so I was just shoutout to them, and I was just going out there and hitting shots that I practice every single day."

Dalton Knecht earlier made a strong impression in the summer league, where he averaged 21.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game while drilling 39.1% of his attempts from 3-point range.

Knecht could become a key player in the Lakers' rotation despite being a rookie, especially if he remains consistent with his 3-point shooting.