Isaiah Hartenstein Rumors

Thunder Notes: Bounce-Back, Holmgren, Smith, System, Hartenstein

December 29th, 2025 at 1:36pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Following three losses in four games — including a pair to their new conference rival, the Spurs — the Thunder responded with a 129-104 thumping of the Sixers on Sunday. Oklahoma City reestablished itself on the defensive side, holding Philadelphia to 42% shooting and forcing 23 turnovers, which it converted into 31 points.

“We really cranked up the pressure and the help and did so with discipline,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault told Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. “It wasn’t reckless. I thought we really tuned up there and did a really good job of making everything hard on them.”

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Chet Holmgren, who scored a total of 31 points in the Thunder’s three previous games, erupted for 29 points, nine rebounds and four blocks on Sunday. “At the core, the guy is just a winning, tough player,” Daigneault said, per Martinez. “And it’s exhibited with the way he can hold his own at (center) when we shift him there. … He was a dominant defensive player tonight, first and foremost. He was great at the rim. Great in the help. Great in the coverages. He really played at a high level on that end of the floor. It just changes our team when he’s in that mode.”
The Oklahoma City Blue, the Thunder’s NBA G League affiliate, has acquired wing Zhaire Smith from the Texas Legends in exchange for a 2026 first-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick, Rylan Stiles of SI.com tweets. Smith was on the Mavericks‘ training camp roster but was waived in mid-October. Smith, a 2018 NBA first-rounder, racked up 24 points, six rebounds and five assists against the South Bay Lakers on Saturday. Smith’s career got derailed early on due to a broken foot, followed by a life-threatening allergic reaction to sesame that left him forced to use a feeding tube.
Buying into Daigneault’s system is a requirement for the Thunder players and they recognize the benefits, Martinez writes. “On the player’s side, it’s always a sacrifice, but it’s for the better,” Luguentz Dort said. “For a player, you become more efficient. And then you connect more with the team. You’re more into what the team wants to do, and that recipe has been working. Whenever it’s been like that, it’s always important to listen to what they want you to do. Then you just adapt and get better at that, and you’ll be in a good position.”
Isaiah Hartenstein will miss tonight’s game against Atlanta due to a right soleus strain, according to Martinez (Twitter link). It’s the second time Hartenstein has strained that calf this season. He previously missed six games after injuring it on Nov. 26.

Thunder’s Isaiah Hartenstein Returning Saturday

December 12th, 2025 at 8:10pm CST by Rory Maher

After missing the past six games with a right soleus (calf) strain, starting center Isaiah Hartenstein is not on the Thunder‘s injury report ahead of Saturday’s NBA Cup semifinal against the Spurs, which indicates he’ll be available to play, tweets Rylan Stiles of SI.com.

Oklahoma City got some other reinforcements back ahead of Wednesday’s quarterfinal win over Phoenix, with Luguentz Dort (right adductor strain) and Alex Caruso (right quad contusion) returning from injuries that cost the defensive stalwarts three and four games, respectively.

Guard Cason Wallace, who leads the NBA in steals per game (2.3), will be active on Saturday as well after leaving Wednesday’s game early — he was hit by a hard screen from Suns center Mark Williams, per Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).

The defending champions have been on an absolute tear this season, holding an active 16-game winning streak — a franchise record — heading into Saturday. The Thunder are currently 24-1, tied with the 2015/16 Warriors for the best 25-game start in NBA history.

Head coach Mark Daigneault was asked after Wednesday’s blowout victory how the Thunder have avoided complacency after winning the title in ’24/25 (Twitter video link from Martinez).

“You have to understand anything in the past takes you out of the present moment,” Daigneault said in part. “Anything in the future takes you out of the present moment. And the competition happens in the present moment.”

Injury Notes: SGA, Thunder, Booker, Essengue, Schröder

December 7th, 2025 at 9:54am CST by Rory Maher

Reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will miss his first game of the season on Sunday when the Thunder face the Jazz in Utah, tweets Clemente Almanza of Thunder Wire. Gilgeous-Alexander is dealing with bursitis in his left elbow, per the team.

The superstar guard is one of seven Oklahoma City players who will be out Sunday. Others include rotation members Luguentz Dort (right adductor strain), Alex Caruso (right quad contusion), Isaiah Joe (left knee soreness) and Isaiah Hartenstein (right soleus strain).

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Suns head coach Jordan Ott provided an update on star guard Devin Booker on Friday, according to Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic (Twitter video link). Booker is recovering from a right groin strain and could return for Wednesday’s NBA Cup quarterfinal at Oklahoma City. “We’ll continue to assess him day-by-day, but he’s been through this before,” Ott said. “So he knows exactly where he’s at and his body and he’s made good progress in a short amount of time. … If his body is feeling good and he’s in a good place, he’ll absolutely be available (Wednesday).”
Speaking to the media on Saturday, Bulls lottery pick Noa Essengue said his season-ending left shoulder injury was a dislocation, as K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Sports Network relays (via Twitter). The French forward added that he dislocated the same shoulder a couple of years ago and his surgery is scheduled for Wednesday.
Kings point guard Dennis Schröder was out again last night in Miami due to a right hip flexor strain, notes Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee (Twitter link). While Schröder’s strain is “mild” and he’s considered day-to-day, he has now missed five straight games, having last suited up on Nov. 24 vs. Minnesota.

Isaiah Hartenstein Has Soleus Strain, Will Be Reevaluated In 10-14 Days

November 29th, 2025 at 7:49pm CST by Arthur Hill

Center Isaiah Hartenstein has been diagnosed with a right soleus strain and will be reevaluated in 10-to-14 days, the Thunder announced (via Twitter). An examination was done after Hartenstein missed Friday’s game against Phoenix because of soreness in his right ankle.

After injuries limited him to 57 games last year, Hartenstein has been a rock in the middle for Oklahoma City this season, appearing in the first 19 games. He’s played an important role in helping the Thunder build the league’s best record, averaging 12.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.3 steals in 27.8 minutes per night while shooting 67.1% from the field.

Hartenstein’s injury is the latest significant one for the Thunder, who haven’t been able to field a full lineup yet despite their 19-1 record. Jalen Williams, one of the heroes of the NBA Finals, didn’t make his season debut until Friday, while Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, Alex Caruso, Kenrich Williams, Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins have all missed multiple games with various ailments.

Holmgren was used as the starting center on Friday as OKC employed a smaller starting five with Williams returning. Reserve big man Jaylin Williams played 21 minutes, and he’ll likely have an expanded role until Hartenstein resumes playing.

Hartenstein suffered a left soleus strain in January and missed five games last season, according to Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman (Twitter link).

After playing for five teams in his first six NBA seasons, Hartenstein turned out to be a valuable addition for the Thunder when he signed as a free agent in the summer of 2024. That deal includes a $28.5MM team option for next season, which could lead to a difficult decision as Oklahoma City tries to remain at a championship level without going deep into second-apron territory.

Thunder Notes: SGA, Dort, Hartenstein, Daigneault

November 12th, 2025 at 6:15pm CST by Arthur Hill

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had two of the league’s most prestigious trophies in his possession by the time the Thunder reached the NBA Finals, but he kept them out of sight so they wouldn’t distract from the ultimate goal, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The award he got for being named Most Valuable Player of the Western Conference Finals stayed hidden in the back of his locker until the playoffs ended, while his regular season MVP trophy was in an even more remote spot.

“In its case, in the basement,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “All the joy and everything that comes with that would’ve been put on hold had we not won the championship, so that’d be my main goal. I had to put the fun aside for a bit, and then at the end, it was a little bit sweeter.”

SGA and his team appear to be on the way to collecting more hardware next spring and possibly for years to come. They’re off to an 11-1 start without their best lineup together, as All-Star wing Jalen Williams is still recovering from wrist surgery and other players have been in and out of the lineup during the first three weeks of the season.

As MacMahon explains, they’ve been able to keep winning due to a sense of professionalism and a commitment to hard work that permeate the organization, with Gilgeous-Alexander at the center of it.

“He still looks like he wants to make the team. That’s just his approach,” Luguentz Dort said. “That’s how he competes. He’s always been like that. The fact that he’s the leader of our team and still approaching it that way in Year 8 now, it just sets the tone for the rest of us. It’s like, man, we got to match that energy.”

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While the Thunder are favored to repeat as champions this season, ownership may have to be willing to spend into the second apron to build a dynasty capable of winning several titles, MacMahon adds. The first test will come next offseason when decisions have to be made on team options for Dort ($18.2MM) and Isaiah Hartenstein ($28.5MM). “There’s certain (times) where you think, ‘I could never imagine being somewhere else,’ but for me, it’s right now,” Hartenstein said. “How can I be focused on the present moment? Then I think everything will figure itself out when it’s done. And I think with the second apron, winning always helps. So, if we just keep winning, I think we can keep the team together.”
In an interview with Mark Medina of Athlon Sports, Gilgeous-Alexander said head coach Mark Daigneault deserves more credit for his role in making the team successful. “The biggest thing is Coach does a really good job of setting the tone,” he said. “The group is a certain way, obviously, and the characters in the room. But Coach does a really good job of holding every guy in the room, including myself, to the highest standard and not letting it slip, no matter what.”
Daigneault tells Sam Amick of The Athletic that the Thunder adjusted their normal offseason schedule to give players more time to savor the accomplishment of winning a title. “Normally guys are coming into Oklahoma City in early September, and we pushed that back — for the guys that played a lot,” he said. “So we tried to extend the summer as much as we could, and not feel this insecurity to turn the page too fast, so that they could fully enjoy and decompress from last season. And then we just tried to present it as an end point. Last season ended. This season starts. That was the 2025 championship. No one’s taking it away from us. It’s ours for the rest of our lives, but it’s also over.”

Northwest Notes: Hartenstein, Edwards, Hardy, Markkanen

November 8th, 2025 at 11:55am CST by Dana Gauruder

Isaiah Hartenstein erupted for a 33-point night in the Thunder‘s win over Sacramento on Friday. Along with his career high in points, Hartenstein grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked three shots.

“He was on one today,” Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell told Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman. “Hart is a great player. We were able to find him, and he had a great game. He made it very easy for us.”

Hartenstein is averaging a double-double for the banged-up Thunder, with 12.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game in the early going this season.

“He’s played great as time has gone on here,” Thunder head coach Mark Daigneault said. “He’s getting better and better with his teammates here inside the system. He was obviously highly impactful at the beginning, but he’s only gotten better, especially on the offensive side of the floor.”

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In his second game back from missing four due to a right hamstring strain, Timberwolves star guard Anthony Edwards poured in 37 points in a 40-point romp over Utah. “He’s our leading light, and he’s got to be aggressive, and he’s got to be himself,” head coach Chris Finch told The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski. “That’s what we need. And I thought he played quick and clean. Thought we all did to start the game, and it was just really good, really fun to watch.”
Jazz coach Will Hardy has been very vocal this season and that’s by design, according to Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. “It’s all intentional,” Hardy said. “There is a real process right now of trying to have all of our players, especially our young players, understand that every time you take the court, you’re trying to win.” Hardy’s team is currently holds a 3-6 record. “I feel like I need to give the team the urgency every single night to not let moments pass them by, to not take their minutes for granted, to not take this moment in their career for granted — because nothing’s guaranteed,” he said.
Lauri Markkanen was held to 12 points in 21 minutes on Friday but the Jazz forward is still averaging 28.3 points per game, which would easily be a career best. “He can truly play any style,” Hardy told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “He can play with anybody there. You could name any All-Star player, and I would say Lauri could play with them. Because he doesn’t dribble too much, because he’s not really an iso player, because he’s not a pick-and-roll ball handler who needs X number of screens a night. It’s nice having somebody who’s that caliber player who doesn’t necessarily dictate your style. There are certain players that dictate the style you kind of have to play. Lauri gives us a lot of flexibility. It’s a real luxury as a coach and it would appear that that would be a luxury from a team-building standpoint.”

Franz Wagner, Dennis Schröder Lead Germany’s EuroBasket Roster

August 23rd, 2025 at 8:37pm CST by Arthur Hill

Germany has finalized its 12-man roster for EuroBasket, highlighted by Magic star Franz Wagner and new Kings guard Dennis Schröder, writes Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews.

The Germans also feature Wagner’s Orlando teammate, Tristan Da Silva, and a couple of former NBA big men in Daniel Theis and Isaac Bonga. Making up the rest of the roster are Oscar Da Silva, Justus Hollatz, Leon Kratzer, Maodo Lo, Andreas Obst, Johannes Thiemann and Johannes Voigtmann.

Germany has several significant absences due to injuries. Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein will miss the tournament because of an Achilles tendon issue, while Magic big man Moritz Wagner continues to recover from a torn ACL in his left knee that he suffered in December.

In addition, Real Madrid refused to sign a release for guard David Kramer to participate after he suffered a muscle injury, according to Eurohoops. Kramer averaged 15.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game during the EuroBasket Qualifiers.

“This is a bitter blow for us,” German coach Alex Mumbru said. “David was planned to be an important part of our team. We now have to compensate for his absence as best we can. Of course, I’m also very sorry for him personally; David would have deserved to be there.”

The Germans have become one of international basketball’s top teams in recent years, winning a gold medal in the 2023 World Cup. Four years ago, they finished third in EuroBasket, which they hosted, and they came in fourth at the 2024 Olympics.

Schröder has been a member of the senior national team since 2014 and was named to the All-Star Five Team at last year’s Olympics. Wagner was a second-team all-tournament choice at both the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics.

Germany has been placed in Group B for EuroBasket, along with Lithuania, Great Britain, Sweden, Montenegro and Finland. Group play will start Wednesday, and all games will be held in Tampere, Finland.

Thunder Notes: Ring Night, Durant, Hartenstein, Sorber

August 9th, 2025 at 11:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thunder fans shouldn’t get distracted by the presence of Kevin Durant at their ring night celebration, writes Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated. According to a Friday report, Durant’s first game with the Rockets will kick off the new NBA season on October 21 at Oklahoma City, which is when the home team will be honored for capturing the city’s first-ever championship.

Durant has a long and complicated history with OKC fans. He was their first hero when the team moved from Seattle in 2008 and led them to the NBA Finals in 2012. However, a rift was created when he left for Golden State as a free agent four years later and he usually gets loudly booed during visits to Oklahoma City.

Stiles encourages fans to look past their feud with Durant for at least one night and savor the ring presentations and the raising of the championship banner. Stiles doesn’t expect forgiveness, but he said the crowd should celebrate the accomplishments of MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and his teammates, who were able to accomplish something for the franchise that Durant never did.

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After winning 68 games and bringing home the championship, there are reasons to believe OKC will be even better next season, Stiles suggests in a separate story. Fourteen players return from the title team, with first-round pick Thomas Sorber replacing Dillon Jones on the 15-man roster. The team figures to benefit from internal development with so many young players, plus 2024 lottery pick Nikola Topic will be active after missing all of last season due to injury. In addition, several contenders have taken a step back so the Thunder’s path through the regular season might be easier.
A $28.5MM team option on center Isaiah Hartenstein will be the Thunder’s major decision for next summer, Justin Martinez of The Oklahoman states in a mailbag column. While it’s possible that Hartenstein could agree to a new deal with a smaller average annual value, Martinez notes that re-signing him may mean parting with Luguentz Dort ($17.7MM) and Kenrich Williams ($7.2MM), who will also be on team options. Martinez views Hartenstein as the most likely of the three to be let go because his salary is so large.
The Thunder can afford to be patient with Sorber if he’s not fully ready in time for training camp, Martinez adds in the same piece. The 19-year-old big man underwent surgery in February for a turf toe injury and missed all of Summer League, even though he was able to work out individually during practices. There has been no official word on Sorber’s status, and he said at a post-draft press conference that he was “just taking it day-by-day.”

Look Ahead At Potential 2026 Free Agents

August 8th, 2025 at 9:59pm CST by Eli Cohen

Free agency is not the headline event it once was in the NBA, as a large portion of the top players on the market tend to extend, like Luka Doncic did last weekend with the Lakers, or move in trades rather than signing with new teams. However, there are still likely to be talented players available and ready to contribute to new situations, as Zach Harper details for The Athletic.

Teams like the Lakers, Clippers, and Heat have made an effort to keep their flexibility for next year, write Tim Bontemps and Kevin Pelton for ESPN. However, those teams are also expected to try to maintain cap space for 2027, a summer in which multiple MVPs – Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Jokic – could potentially reach the market, though of course neither is guaranteed to be available.

The Celtics will also likely look to retool their roster next summer after trading away key contributors in Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis for salary cap relief, as they seek to rebuild their roster into a contender around Tatum once he has recovered from his Achilles tear.

Trae Young, with a $48.9MM player option for the 2026/27 season, has the potential to be one of the top names on the board, and while Harper expresses confidence that an extension with the Hawks will get done, there have been rumors that it’s far from a certainty, and that next season could serve as an evaluation period for the Hawks’ core under a new head of basketball operations.

Other high-end veterans with player options for ’26/27 include James Harden (Clippers), Zach LaVine (Kings), Draymond Green (Warriors), Austin Reaves (Lakers), Andrew Wiggins (Heat), Fred VanVleet (Rockets), and Bradley Beal (Clippers). Harper considers Harden, Green, and Reaves very likely to remain with their current teams, and VanVleet also relatively likely to stay, though the Rockets have some level of flexibility in regard to the future of their roster.

Then there are the unrestricted free agents. As of this moment, LeBron James (Lakers) and Kevin Durant (Rockets) represent the cream of the crop, but there are other talented players such as Porzingis (Hawks), Anfernee Simons (Celtics), Coby White (Bulls), and others who are sure to garner suitors.

For what it’s worth, Durant has been widely expected to extend with Houston, but James is ineligible to be extended prior to free agency and White’s salary is so modest relative to his value that he’s considered likely to wait until he can get a bigger payday on the free agent market.

One interesting inflection point will be players on team options, such as Isaiah Hartenstein and Luguentz Dort on the Thunder, and Bogdan Bogdanovic and Brook Lopez on the Clippers. The Thunder, particularly, could have some tough decisions to make on their role players soon as lucrative extensions take effect for stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams.

Northwest Notes: Caruso, Hartenstein, Nuggets, Hansen

July 28th, 2025 at 3:57pm CST by Rory Maher

Alex Caruso‘s regular season impact for the Thunder was fairly modest, as he made just 54 appearances while ranking just ninth on the team in minutes per game (19.3). That turned out to be by design — Caruso appeared in all 23 games during the team’s title run and ranked fifth on the team in MPG (24.4), writes Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (subscriber link).

As Mussatto details, Caruso didn’t score 20 points a single time during the regular season but recorded three such games in the playoffs. The 31-year-old significantly boosted his three-point percentage as well, going from 35.3% during the season to 41.1% in the playoffs.

Defense and outside shooting were the main weaknesses of Josh Giddey, the player Oklahoma City traded to acquire Caruso, who excelled in both of those areas during the postseason. In Mussatto’s view, Caruso was the Thunder’s third-most important player in the playoffs (behind Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Jalen Williams), which is why he earned an A-plus for his 2024/25 performance.

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In another story for The Oklahoman, Mussatto commends the fit and play of center Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder‘s big free agent addition last summer, giving him a grade of A-minus. Unlike Caruso, Hartenstein had an excellent regular season but didn’t have the same level of impact during the playoffs. Still, the 27-year-old was vitally important in the second-round matchup against Denver, Mussatto notes, and provided the size and rebounding the team lacked in 2023/24.
The Nuggets have had a busy offseason, trading Michael Porter Jr. and a 2032 first-round pick to acquire Cameron Johnson (and roster-building flexibility); trading Dario Saric for Jonas Valanciunas; and adding Bruce Brown and Tim Hardaway Jr. in free agency. Longtime analyst and former NBA star Charles Barkley is a fan of the moves they made, he told Sean Keeler of The Denver Post. “I think (the Nuggets) and the Houston Rockets have probably had the best summers (in the NBA),” Barkley said. “And (the Nuggets), they’ve got the best player in the world (in Nikola Jokic). They just needed some more depth. They kind of broke the team up after they won the first championship (2023), and that’s really unfortunate. (They’ve) still got the best player. You want to give them as many opportunities as possible. But I thought they had a great summer.”
The Chinese Basketball Association recently announced that Trail Blazers first-round pick Yang Hansen will miss the 2025 Asia Cup in order to prepare for his rookie season, tweets Sean Highkin of RoseGardenReport.com. Hansen received permission from the Chinese national team to skip the event due to scheduling conflicts with Blazers mini-camps in August. He will instead stay in Portland this offseason.