Back in preseason, Oklahoma City Thunder big man Isaiah Hartenstein fractured his hand. Thus, he was sidelined for the Thunder’s first 15 games of the 2024-25 regular season and made his season debut just recently against the Portland Trail Blazers on Nov. 20.
In his second game played of the season, which came versus the Sacramento Kings on Nov. 25, Hartenstein reminded folks of his unique skill set for a center and why Oklahoma City spent a pretty penny in order to sign him in free agency. He totaled 17 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in a game the Thunder won by 21 points.
After the 26-year-old contributed across the stat sheet in the Thunder’s second straight win, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander implied that Hartenstein is an ideal fit on the court with a player of his caliber.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Isaiah Hartenstein: "He's a dream big man for a marquee guy."
— Joel Lorenzi (@jxlorenzi) November 26, 2024
Hartenstein inked a three-year, $87 million deal with the Thunder in the offseason after he put together a career year with the New York Knicks in the 2023-24 campaign. He posted career-highs in rebounds, assists and steals per game for a Knicks squad that came close to reaching the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in more than two decades.
The 2017 second-round pick seemingly couldn’t have made his return to the lineup at a more opportune time for the Thunder, as the team’s big man depth is looking thin at the moment. Chet Holmgren suffered a pelvic fracture earlier on in the month and is expected to be down for the count for the foreseeable future.
The Thunder have yet to lose a single game with a healthy Hartenstein on the floor either, as before Oklahoma City earned a convincing win over the Kings, the team beat the Trail Blazers by 10 points. In his season debut, Hartenstein totaled a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds to go along with four blocked shots.
Hartenstein, Gilgeous-Alexander and company can extend their winning streak to three games with a victory over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night. The Warriors are right behind the Thunder in the standings as the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, but they’re also losers of their past two contests.
