How Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein ‘figured out’ 2025

OKLAHOMA CITY — Florian Hartenstein, father Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartensteinhe will never forget the joyous expression on Isaiah’s face, reminiscent of the days when his son was a little boy. As he parted ways with a sea of ​​screaming fans in Oklahoma City, c Hartenstein was at the Thunder’s first championship paradeheading towards Scissortail Park. For many reasons, Florian felt vindicated for his son.

Hartenstein has come a long way as an overseas prospect playing in Germany and Lithuania before the 2017 draft, when the Houston Rockets selected him with the 43rd overall pick. It was the beginning of a unique path to becoming the starting center for the NBA champions, which began with a stint in the G League and continued with brief stops with the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles Clippers.

Florian admits, never staying in a team for more than one season, I felt like one failure after another. However, the experience led to better opportunities for Hartenstein, who looked forward to developing as a backup to All-Star Nikola Jokic in Denver before Isaiah was unexpectedly traded to the Cavs.

Those were the darkest days of Hartenstein’s career, Florian recalls. Yet learning aspects of the game through different voices, opinions and strategic approaches helped Isaiah grow into the reliable rebounder, rim protector, scorer and passer he is today; however, Hartenstein was looking for something permanent. He was discouraged, not knowing where his path was leading.

“You always want to be a part of (it). The thing is, he understood that. In order to play in the NBA, you have to figure out a role. I think that’s one of the hardest parts, especially for younger players — to figure out what my role is in the NBA. Because if you’re not like the top pick, you can’t play the way you say,” Luch Point C. “You have to find the role that suits you best.”

“And he’s figured out how to mentally put himself in situations where, okay, the team wants this. So I’m trying to be as good as possible in those situations to help the team in the best way possible. I think that mindset is almost unique to me because he’s played the last four years for four different coaches, and he’s always been able to adapt to what that special coach wants to do.”

Florian believes his son’s 2021-22 season with the Clippers was the first time Hartenstein really began to believe he had a future in the NBA. Averaging 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 blocks in 17.9 minutes, he solidified Isaiah as an everyday player.

Then his two seasons with the New York Knicks caught the eye of the Thunder front office, who believed Isaiah Hartenstein was the missing piece to a young and promising frontcourt led by Oklahoma City’s pair of 2022 first-round picks, Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. In 2024 Hartenstein agreed to a three-year, $87 million contract with the Thunder, securing his and his family’s future and a starting center role.

After helping the Thunder win the championship, he is off to the best start of his career, which has been punctuated Hartenstein’s career night in a 132-101 win against the Sacramento Kings. Hartenstein had career highs — 33 on 14-of-17 shooting — and rebounds (19), along with three assists, three blocks and a steal.

Florian had no doubt that the 2025-26 campaign would be Hartenstein’s best entry into the regular season, and we’re seeing just that, so far in a sample of 11 games. Hartenstein has found a home as a Thunder player who can score, set solid screens and pass better than most centers in the league, and at 27 years old, he’s still getting better.

“To be happy in the situation he is in, to be able to show what he can do,” added Florian. “Winning a championship — what, I mean, we’re talking about, like, Charles Barkley doesn’t have a championship, you know? These are legends in the NBA. It’s an honor for me to be a part of that. To see that and just experience it.”

Isaiah Hartenstein’s dad reflects on the Thunder’s championship parade

Thunder veteran Isaiah Hartenstein’s father, Florian Hartenstein, has been in his son’s corner every step of the way through the center’s nine-year career. As a former German professional basketball player, he moved his family from Oregon to Germany before Isaiah was a teenager and took him under his wing as a center.

Florian coached his son for years, believing that gaining European basketball experience would make Hartenstein a more dynamic center and increase his chances of making it to the NBA, which Florian, who chose a career overseas after going undrafted in 1999, believed. He swore that Isaiah’s path would be different from his. Hartenstein passed on the chance to play college basketball in the United States.

Florian says a false report citing Isaiah’s knee injury sent his stock into the second round. The ups and downs of playing in the G League, getting little to no NBA playing time, and two trades and waivers led to a defining moment for Hartenstein, who Florian says was caught on the Thunder’s parade bus during Oklahoma City’s first championship parade.

“The parade really made the biggest impact, just to see how the crowd was a part of it and just to see the happiness,” Florian said. “For me, as a dad, I think that was the happiness on his face. This is probably the first time, for me, just seeing him really happy as a kid, which is hard. As a dad, you always want to see more of that kid side. I mean, for me, that was the most touching, like — OK, he’s living his dream.”

Eleven games into the regular season, Hartenstein is averaging a double-double (13.4 points, 11.8 rebounds) with the third-highest field goal percentage (68.5%) in the NBA, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He’s a big reason why the defending champion Thunder, in the midst of their best start in franchise history, are 10-1 and have the best record in the league.