IsaiahHartenstein

Preseason question: Has Hartenstein made himself indispensable for the Thunder? When he signed his original three-year, $87 million deal with OKC in 2024, Hartenstein was viewed as more of a stopgap than a long-term pillar. That was partly because of the structure of his contract (a balloon-style annual salary that the team could afford only because its core players were still on cheap rookie deals) and partly because of the assumption that Chet Holmgren would eventually play Hartenstein out of a job. Instead, the nine-year southpaw has become one of the most critical role players in the entire NBA. Hartenstein’s, um, physicality against Victor Wembanyama temporarily turned the tide in last season’s Western Conference finals, his defense and rebounding are a backbone of the Thunder’s best-in-class defense, and his short-roll passing and high-arcing floater are a critical release valve when defenses throw the book at SGA. When the Thunder’s cap crunch arrived this summer, it was telling that Sam Presti traded three perimeter role players and signed Hartenstein to an extension that will keep him in OKC for up to three more seasons.