Isaiah Hartenstein Looks Dominant for the OKC Thunder

Despite consistent injury turmoil throughout the season, with forward Jalen Williams missing every game and center Chet Holmgren missing the last three games for the Oklahoma City Thunder, the squad is 7-0 to start the season once again. Center Isaiah Hartenstein has been critical to the Thunder's success, just as he has been since arriving in Oklahoma City.

Hartenstein has looked dominant in the Thunder's last two outings against the Washington Wizards and New Orleans Pelicans, whether it is scoring, rebounding, or racking up assists. The German big man has fully unlocked his game right out of the gates.

On Oct. 30 against the Wizards in Paycom Center, Hartenstein scored a season-high 17 points, grabbed eight rebounds, assisted on five made shots and picked up two steals. He made seven of his 11 shot attempts in an exceptionally efficient performance.

Hartenstein stayed around the cup all night long, whether it was grabbing and throwing down lobs off pick and roll plays, filling in as an extra option when a teammate drove to the paint, or cleaning up misses; he was converting his shot attempts. In the absence of Holmgren, OKC needed him to take another step up and he has responded.

After a two-day break, Hartenstein continued his dominance against the winless Pelicans on Sunday afternoon. He had a near triple-double, scoring 14 points, racking up 14 rebounds and picking up eight assists.

"He's been great with matchups and rebounding, and the passing aspect of his game helps us a lot also," forward Aaron Wiggins said in Sunday's postgame press conference.

Hartenstein also tallied a steal and a block and converted on six of his seven shot attempts. No matter who New Orleans threw his way, the eighth-year center threw them aside.

Once again, Hartenstein lived inside of the paint, converting on multiple alley-oop dunks once again. This also marked the first time Hartenstein started alongside fellow center Jaylin Williams.

"There's certain situations where we think that's advantageous. Tonight was one of them, and we think there's others. So it's just another option for us," Head Coach Mark Daigneault said in a postgame press conference after OKC's win over New Orleans.

Hartenstein is averaging a double-double through the first seven games of the season, with 10.9 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He is shooting 63% overall with highly efficient shot selection.

Hartenstein will continue to be greatly important to the franchise for the remainder of the season, as OKC looks to repeat as champions.