Oklahoma City has had a record-breaking season, but one player could soon hold a record no one wants.
The Thunder have dominated the league throughout the 2024-25 season. Sitting at 64-12, the Thunder only have another six games to get through before they look to make a run at their first NBA title.
After finishing as the No. 1 seed last season, the Thunder were bounced in the second round of the playoffs, which prompted some changes in the offseason. None of those changes were more impactful than the free agent signing of Isaiah Hartenstein.
Over the summer, Oklahoma City inked the big man to a three-year, $87 million deal to help the team with some of its key weaknesses, specifically rebounding. His addition has been nothing but a success for the Thunder. When either he or Chet Holmgren plays, the Thunder have been nearly unbeatable this season.
This season, Hartenstein has averaged 11.2 points and 10.8 rebounds in 27.9 minutes per game. He has also started 50 of his 54 contests this season and is shooting 57.2% from the field.
While it seems that just about everything has gone according to plan for Oklahoma City and its newest big man, his only issue has been a historic struggle to shoot from beyond the arc. Hartenstein is yet to hit a 3-pointer this season. In the Thunder’s win against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, he missed his 19th shot of the season from beyond the arc.
At 0-of-19, Hartenstein is tied for the third-most 3-point attempts without a make in a season in league history. Magic Johnson’s 0-of-21 mark in 1982-83 and Tom Garrick’s 0-of-22 mark in 1990-91 are the only seasons with more.
At 0.35 3-point attempts per game, Hartenstein is currently averaging the most outside shots per game without a single make among players to play at least 50 games in NBA history. While it isn’t a concern that Hartenstein has struggled to hit from outside this season, it has led him on a path to make some history, albeit not history he wants to have.
With six games left, Hartenstein has an opportunity to put up some more shots from beyond the arc. Depending on the results, Hartenstein could soon hold a new NBA record or avoid that fate altogether.
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There aren't too many questions floating around about the Philadelphia Eagles. Philadelphia is the reigning Super Bowl champion and has a star-studded roster with few holes that looks like it can make another deep run. What else could someone ask for? The Eagles don't have any glaring holes right now with training camp in full swing. Now, injuries could always change things, but the Eagles are sitting pretty right now. The only real question mark for Philadelphia right now seems to be at safety. After trading CJ Gardner-Johnson, this is the position that could at least provide questions for the franchise, but it seems like the Eagles have solutions. Sydney Brown has been with the franchise and has a chance at a bigger role. 2025 second-round pick Andrew Mukuba also looks like someone who could immediately play a big role. The Eagles are getting a good look at what they have in training camp and are in the driving seat. There has been plenty of noise about the chances of an addition with Justin Simmons' name coming up most often. It makes sense. Simmons made it clear early in the offseason that he is interested in Philadelphia, but it seems like the Eagles want to see what they have first. With Simmons, you know what you are getting. He's an All-Pro-level talent surprisingly on the board. He also has played in Vic Fangio's system. He would be an easy addition, but it doesn't seem like any deals are likely unless injuries pop up or Philadelphia sees something different during preseason action. It would make sense to add him, but because you know what you are getting, a deal easily could make sense now, next week, or weeks from now. Instead, it makes sense to see what Philadelphia has right now. There isn't a rush.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' signing of quarterback Aaron Rodgers was an immediately polarizing move that did not sit well with large portions of the fan base. It also did not sit well with one of the team's all-time greatest players, four-time Super Bowl winning quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Bradshaw initially referred to the signing of Rodgers as a "joke" and that he should "stay in California and go chew bark" in reference to Rodgers isolating himself in a darkness retreat last year. On Saturday, Rodgers finally had a chance to respond to Bradshaw and did so with a combination of taking the high road, and also trying to make light of it. “I whisper to the gods every single day. I’ve known Terry for a long time, being a part of Fox. Terry’s a legend. He’s an absolute legend. He won four Super Bowls. He’s had a legendary career in the media. But Terry, like a lot of people, doesn’t know me. And so, he’s got an idea of what he thinks about me based on what I’ve done, the documentary, what I’ve said, darkness retreat, whatever the hell you want to talk about. I’d love to get to know Terry on a deeper level. I feel like if he gave me a chance to get to know him, then we’d have a good friendship." He ended the answer by saying, "So, I’d love to get to know Terry on a deeper level if he’s open to it. And maybe we can go chew some bark or whatever the hell he’s talking about together.” The Steelers were in a pretty desperate quarterback situation this offseason after completely overhauling the position for a second year in a row. They missed out on the chance to re-sign Justin Fields, let Russell Wilson walk, missed out on every other veteran who changed teams and passed on the opportunity to select a quarterback near the top of a weak quarterback draft class. (They ultimately selected Ohio State's Will Howard in the sixth round.) The whole Rodgers saga has been quite a soap opera for the Steelers as they waited around for months while he decided on whether or not he wanted to play this season, and if he wanted to play for the Steelers. Add in the fact he has had a tendency to cause some off-field distractions with his comments and weekly "Pat McAfee Show" appearances, as well as the fact he will turn 42 years old this season and hasn't been a top-tier quarterback in three years, and a lot of Steelers fans — and former players — were put off by the idea. The only thing that will matter in the end, however, is how Rodgers plays on the field. He has said all of the right things since joining the team, and his new teammates have all spoken highly of him so far, but it will still come down to results on the field. The Steelers have not won a playoff game in eight years and are facing added pressure each year to end that drought. They are hoping Rodgers has one more good year in him to help them advance in the postseason.
The Cleveland Browns are giving Shedeur Sanders special treatment in training camp, but it's not the type of favoritism the fifth-round pick would necessarily want. Per Daniel Oyefusi of ESPN, Sanders is the only Browns quarterback who has not been taking reps with the first-team offense during OTAs or the first two practices of training camp. Former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round pick Kenny Pickett, veteran Joe Flacco and rookie Dillon Gabriel have all split reps with the first team. Despite being asked to throw passes to members of the equipment staff amid a shortage of professional pass-catchers for a four-quarterback roster, Sanders said he's thankful for the opportunity to show the Browns coaching staff his talents. "I feel like that it's not in my control, so I'm not going to think about that or even have that in my thought process of why it is," Sanders said to a question as to why he's not getting first-team reps. "There's a lot of people who want to have the opportunity to be at this level, and I'm here and I'm thankful to have the opportunity. So, whenever that is, that is." Sanders, 23, believes that he can contribute more to the Browns than what the coaching staff is asking of him. "It doesn't make me feel down or left out because I know who I am as a person," Sanders said. "I know who I am as an individual and I know what I could bring to this team. So, I can never feel less than any circumstance." The Browns selected Sanders with the No. 144 pick in April's draft. As a player whom many draft analysts thought was a first-round talent, Cleveland took what could be the steal of the draft in the fifth round. It's curious why the Browns aren't giving Sanders a shot with the first team early in training camp before the quarterback race becomes more serious. Cleveland should see what Sanders has to offer this summer. Flacco, 40, isn't a long-term solution at the position. Pickett failed in Pittsburgh. The Browns need to gauge what rookies Gabriel and Sanders can do with the first team. Having Sanders throw balls to the equipment staff is a waste of everyone's time. But then again, Cleveland has wasted plenty of quarterbacks.
The 4'2 40-yard dash and the speed Matthew Golden shows on tape were big motivators for the Green Bay Packers to finally select a wide receiver in the first round after 23 years. In the first week of training camp, his smoothness to run routes is evident, and his quickness to explode from the line of scrimmage catches the attention of everyone around him. Assistant head coach and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia is no different. He likes to give players nicknames based on profile comparison, and Golden has already received his: Bob Hayes, the Bullet, a former star Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers receiver who was an All-Pro three times in the 1960s and won two gold medals in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics on track and field. Hayes, who passed away in 2002, one year before Matthew Golden was born, is the only person to win both a Super Bowl title and an Olympic gold medal. "[Bisaccia] told me to look him up. I looked him up and I saw he was real fast," Golden said in the locker room. "So he gave me that nickname." Bob Hayes played for the Cowboys from 1965 through 1974. He was a First-Team All-Pro in 1966 and 1968, a Second-Team All-Pro in 1967, and a Pro Bowler in those three years. With speed as his calling card, he was the NFL receiving touchdowns leader in 1965 and 1966. It's impossible to know how close Matthew Golden will be to that amazing career, but this is an answer the Packers don't need right now. So far, the early signs are as promising as they could be. "For any of these guys coming in for the first time, you don't know the opportunities that are going to be presented to each player, and then they’ve got to respond," general manager Brian Gutekunst said earlier this week. "We think he's got a chance to certainly make an impact for our football team. I think it's going to be a competitive group. But again, we took him where we took him for a reason. At the same time, he's a third-year college kid. He has two years at Houston, one year at Texas. So far, so good." Part of the appeal for the Packers was Golden's positional versatility. In his lone season at Texas, the wide receiver played 664 snaps outside, 175 in the slot, and even 12 in the backfield. "It's easier initially to start with a primary position, but really it's about how much they can handle," head coach Matt LaFleur explained. "The more he shows he can handle, that will naturally occur. We've done a nice job, [passing game coordinator Jason] Vrable and [wide receivers coach Ryan] Mahaffey do a really good job training these guys. We always try to teach concepts and where you fit within the concept. The more a player proves he can handle that and move around, the more opportunities he gets." Matthew Golden has shown he can impact the offense right away. As fast as he is on the field.
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