Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) warms up before the start of game six of the western conference finals for the 2026 NBA playoffs at Frost Bank Center
Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images
Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein, who grew up overseas in Germany, returned to his roots for his charity event this summer. His father, Florian Hartenstein, played professionally in Germany from 2001 to 2012, during Isaiah’s formative years, when he fell in love with basketball. After winning an NBA championship in 2025, Thunder’s Hartenstein signed a three-year extension, worth $100 million, this summer, cementing his role alongside All-Star Chet Holmgren for the foreseeable future.
Hartenstein celebrated by heading back to Germany for his annual youth basketball camp and festival as part of his Heart of the Court (HOTC)/iHart Fest initiative, and reflected on his past, per The Suave Report’s Addam Francisco.
“I grew up in a city where there’s 15,000 people,” Hartenstein said. “So, being able to be here now, made it to the NBA — an NBA champion — teachers telling me, where do you wanna be when you grow up? And I said, I wanna be a basketball player. And they’re like, OK, no, you got to pick a real job where you make real money. And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not changing it.’ So, that’s stuff I tell the kids. There’s going to be people along the road that won’t believe in your dream, won’t see where you can go, and it can be even your family.
“And I think that’s the sad part. But any event I go to, I try to keep telling the kids, if you believe you can do it, if you put the hard work into it, you can actually achieve whatever you want.”
“Germany has done a lot for me, in terms of me getting to the NBA. I see myself as these kids.”
IHart says giving back is his way of paying it forward. We talked about why Germany will always have a special place in his heart and why helping the next generation means so much to… pic.twitter.com/U5LZccYjgb
Hartenstein smiles, thinking about his years in Germany and how that time paved the way for him to reach the NBA. After proving himself throughout his two seasons with the New York Knicks, Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million contract with the Thunder. It was one of the finishing touches to a championship roster.
In 2025, Oklahoma City captured its first title in franchise history.
“I think I’m in a very privileged state in my life,” Hartenstein said. “I have the privilege to be in the NBA. Privileged to have security for my family. So, right now, just wanted to figure out how to give back; how to find a way to really impact the community. It goes to the people I work with. Just having a company like Sketchers. When we sat down in L.A., one of the big things was, like, how can we give back? That’s always something really important to me. Just having them here and being able to give back to Germany.
“But even OKC. A lot of events I do now, you might see a Sketchers logo somewhere around there. Just having a company that has the same morals as me. It also gives us the freedom to kind of explore the basketball culture.”
Being around his father, who was a professional basketball player in Germany throughout Hartenstein’s upbringing, played a critical role in Isaiah’s basketball development from a young age.
“My dad was always the one who was consistent, kind of just helped me get through the ups and downs; taught me how to be a professional,” Hartenstein said. “I was always around his teammates; the professionals.”
“There’s gonna be people along the road that won’t believe in your dream. If you believe you can do it and put the hard work behind it, you can achieve whatever you want.”
Before the league, before winning a title, Isaiah Hartenstein was just a kid from Quakenbrück, Germany,… pic.twitter.com/huLzWF2VTD
Isaiah Hartenstein averaged 11.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in his first season with the Thunder.
What helped Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein ‘figure it out’
Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein’s father, Florian Hartenstein, believes playing overseas helped his son find his footing in the NBA. Hartenstein began his NBA career as a journeyman. The 43rd overall pick in the 2017 draft played for four different teams across the first five years of his career, including stints in the G League before ultimately carving out a role for the Clippers in 2021-22.
For Isaiah’s father, Hartenstein’s professional experience in Germany and Lithuania helped him adapt to different roles quickly in the NBA. In contrast, it could have taken his son longer to find his way.
“You always want to be a part [of it]. The thing is, he’s figured it out. 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 — is to figure out what my role is in the NBA. Because if you’re not like a top pick, you don’t get to play the way you want,” Florian told ClutchPoints in November 2025. “You have to find a role that you fit best.
“And he’s figured out how to mentally put himself in situations where it’s like, OK, the team wants this. So, I try to be as good as I can in those situations to help the team the best way I can. I think that mindset is almost unique to me because he’s played in the last four years for four different coaches, and was always able to adjust to whatever that coach wanted him to do — that’s a special skill.”
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Hartenstein, one half of the Thunder’s 7-foot tandem next to All-Star Chet Holmgren, anchors Oklahoma City’s defense in the frontcourt. It’s a big reason why the Thunder’s top-ranked defense has been title-contenders in back-to-back seasons. And after falling short in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals against Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs, the 2025 champions have some of the best odds of returning to the NBA Finals in 2027.
“To be happy in a situation that he's in, to be able to show what he can do,” Florian added. “To win a championship — which, I mean, we're talking about, like, Charles Barkley doesn't have a championship, you know? These are legends in the NBA. For me, it's an honor to be part of it. To see it and just experience it.”
Led by two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder finished the regular season with the best record in the Western Conference standings for the third consecutive season. However, losing All-NBA and All-Defensive forward Jalen Williams and a key contributor in Ajay Mitchell ahead of Oklahoma City’s deep playoff run prevented the Thunder from reaching the NBA Finals in back-to-back seasons.
Still, Hartenstein proved his worth in the Thunder’s series against the Spurs. He helped contain Wembanyama on defense, which was likely pivotal in the organization’s decision to re-sign him to a three-year extension. The Spurs experienced their first playoff heartbreak, losing to the Knicks 4-1 in the 2026 Finals.
The Thunder and Spurs are both positioned to make another deep playoff run, as the two teams with the best odds of representing the Western Conference in the 2027 Finals. Hartenstein, Holmgren, and the Thunder will look to build off their Game 7 loss.
Perhaps this time health won’t be a concern for the Thunder, as the two teams have started a new NBA rivalry.
Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein played alongside his father in Germany
During a grueling seven-game Western Conference Finals series, Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein gave his dad credit for helping him develop his signature floater that certainly came in handy against All-Star Victor Wembanyama. Hartenstein often had plenty of space to release his floater between the hoop and the free-throw line, where the Spurs often left him open while focusing on Chet Holmgren.
Isaiah, who played alongside his father, Florian Hartenstein, as a guard for one season in Germany, says his dad often forced him to work on that shot as a means of getting his shot past the towering big men years before he grew to become a 7-foot center.
“Shout out to my pops,” Hartenstein said. “Growing up in Europe, I was playing more of the guard position. So, you just work on floaters. You work on certain things. Then, when I came into the NBA, I wasn’t really as strong as I probably am now. I had to find something where I can get it over. Guys like Rudy Gobert, and stuff like that. So, I started working on that more. It’s just something where in the offseason, I work on different heights a bit.
“Before the series, we had a guy who had a long stick to try to resemble. It’s hard, but you try to resemble a certain height of it. Again, I work at different heights.”
Isaiah Hartenstein helped the Thunder push the Spurs to the brink of elimination with a 127-114 Game 5 victory. He finished with 12 points, 15 rebounds, four assists, and one block. Wembanyama went 4-for-15, including 0-for-5 from deep. Amid the Thunder’s championship window, led by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, and the respective max contracts of Holmgren and Hartenstein, Hartenstein heightens the 2025 champion’s chances of winning its second title in three seasons.
Despite not defending their title with youth, talent, and depth on their side, the Thunder's championship window remains wide open for the foreseeable future. It's why a team like OKC can part ways with rotation players such as starting guard Lu Dort, Isaiah Joe, and Aaron Wiggins and still have a good chance of returning to the Finals.
Perhaps Hartenstein’s former teacher in Germany will think twice the next time one of their students announces a dream to play basketball for a living, as Isaiah’s story is living proof that it is possible.