Isaiah Hartenstein Could Be Asked To Step Into New Role For Thunder In The Upcoming Series

Hartenstein has been an amazing piece for the Thunder this postseason; he will just have to be used differently in the conference finals.

Apr 5, 2026; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) dunks against the Utah Jazz during the second quarter at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

Oklahoma City’s big man might have to adapt to an unfamiliar role.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are gearing up for their second Western Conference Finals appearance in a row and are looking to leave it victorious, just like last year. OKC is taking on the San Antonio Spurs, a team that caused it trouble in the regular season. Playing the Spurs might require OKC to take a different approach than they have been, and one Oklahoma City big man could be asked to step into a different role. 

Isaiah Hartenstein has been a key piece to the puzzle for this dominant postseason stretch the Thunder have been on. He is averaging 9.9 points per game, 8.8 rebounds per game, and is actually leading the team in offensive rebounds per game with 3.6 per game. Hartenstein is also known as one of the best big man passers in the league, averaging over two assists a game.

The big man has started all eight postseason games for OKC, as he and Chet Holmgren have given opponents a nice one-two punch in the paint. Unfortunately, it looks like that might change once the conference finals begin.  

San Antonio plays with mostly a small-ball lineup, as Victor Wembanyama is the lone player who rules the paint for the Spurs in their starting lineup. This doesn’t match up the best for the Thunder, who have started two big men in every game in the postseason up to this point. The Thunder might be forced to only play one big man at a time to keep up with the Spurs' fast-paced style of play, which would leave Hartenstein off the court in certain situations when he would usually be in.

OKC has tried a version of this rotation, as Hartenstein was unable to play in the regular-season bout that the Thunder won against San Antonio. The Thunder started with just Holmgren in the game, and then had Jaylin Williams as his backup to hold it down with the second unit. This rotation got Oklahoma City its only win of the season against the Spurs, and now has the capability to be better with Hartenstein back. 

Hartenstein would be called upon to go face-to-face with Spurs backup Luke Kornet and help lead the Thunder’s second team in this series. His veteran leadership and starter-level skills have the ability to take over a game, and now he might get to showcase that from a different role in this upcoming series.