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Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein signed a three-year, $87 million deal over the summer after two seasons with the New York Knicks. However, he still follows his former team, which he admitted to rooting for during the Knicks’ Christmas Day matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. The connections he made in New York remain, and during the team shootaround, a reporter asked Hartenstein what makes him adapt seamlessly to new situations.
Twenty-one games into his time with the Thunder, Hartenstein has made his presence felt on and off the court as part of Oklahoma City’s tight-knit squad.
“I’m team-first regardless of where I go to,” Hartenstein said. “I adapt [to] my role in every situation. The first year I came here [to New York], I had to change how I play. So, I kind of adapted to that. Put my team first. Later on, I got to play my game a little more. But when I first got here, I had to adjust it. So, to me, it’s always the team first. Putting winning in front of everything.”
Hartenstein’s impact with the Knicks caught the Thunder’s eye in free agency. After securing a long-term deal, Isaiah’s been a two-way force for Oklahoma City, especially in the absence of starting forward Chet Holmgren.
“I’m just here to impact winning,” Hartenstein added. “And I think we’ve been doing a good job of that so far.”
Hartenstein is averaging 12.2 points, 12.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists for the Thunder this season.
Isaiah Hartenstein’s keys to Thunder beating Knicks
With an opportunity to defeat his former team, Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein provided the keys to beat the Knicks twice in one week. Coming off a 129-122 loss to the league-leading Cavs, the Thunder saw their epic 15-game win streak end.
Hartenstein spoke to reporters during the team shootaround.
“Getting back to how we play. I feel like Cleveland was a little bit of a situation where we played to their hand,” Hartenstein said. “We were still in the game. But I think we could have definitely done a lot better in just playing to our game more.”
Being back at Madison Square Garden for the first time since signing with the Thunder, how will Knicks fans receive Hartenstein?
“[They’ll] probably make sure [I hear] both,” Hartenstein replied. “In the beginning, probably more cheers. Probably when the game starts, probably more boos. But that’s why you love New York fans.”
Thunder and Knicks tip off Friday night.
