Isaiah Hartenstein Continues To Prove That He Deserves To Stay

If there was any speculation about keeping Isaiah Hartenstein for his team option year, that has been cleared up.

The Thunder’s starting big man has appeared in every game for the Thunder this year and has played a vital role in their 14-1 start. So far, he has started every game for OKC and is averaging a double-double, as Hartenstein is averaging 12.7 points per game along with 11.2 rebounds.

Hartenstein is overall seventh in the NBA in rebounds per game, and more impressively, is fourth in the NBA in shooting percentage, as he’s shooting 69% from the court so far this year.

He hasn’t been known in his career as a scorer, but has had glimpses this season of being a force to be reckoned with. The big man has scored over 15 points in six games, including a game where he scored 33 points against the Sacramento Kings.

This game against Sacramento was a historic night for Hartenstein as he set his career high in points and also set his career high in rebounds, as he reeled in 19.

This miraculous play out of Hartenstein could not have come at a better time, as this is his last guaranteed year on his contract with the Thunder. OKC signed Hartenstein to a three-year deal in 2024, but made the 2026-27 season a team option.

He made his case in year one as he helped the Thunder win their first-ever NBA championship, and so far, he has shown in year two that he can be an even bigger contributor to the team.

Hartenstein has continued to stay healthy this season on a Thunder team that has had a deep injury list at times. With the instability of Chet Holmgren, Hartenstein has been a big body down low that Oklahoma City has relied on to be there.

He’s shown this on the defensive end as he’s averaging 0.6 blocks and 1.3 steals a night for OKC. The big man can dish the ball out too, as he averages 3.1 assists per game.

Oklahoma City has shown that it knows how to draft and that they have a special talent for finding big-time players. This puts an issue on the organization when they have to figure out who to keep and who to let go, but with the year Hartenstein has had, the Thunder big man deserves to finish out his contract and maybe deserves to be signed for years to come.