Isaiah Hartenstein is rewarded for a strong season in the NBA with the New York Knicks and is moving into the dimensions of a Dirk Nowitzki with a new monster contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Germany’s basketball players have been in training camp since Monday (July 1, 2024) and have begun preparing for the Olympic Games. As reigning world champions, Germany is one of the medal contenders, alongside the all-star selection from the USA and host France.
ESPN: $87 million for Hartenstein at OKC
How well positioned the DBB team is can also be seen from the fact that a top player and NBA professional like Isaiah Hartenstein has not even made it into the squad. According to consistent US media reports, including the always well-informed ESPN reporter guru Adrian Wojnarowski, Hartenstein will move from the New York Knicks to the Oklahoma City Thunder and sign a three-year contract that will earn him a total of $87 million.
This means that the 26-year-old could even become the best-paid active German athlete in terms of annual salary, as the “Bild” newspaper reported. Of the German players in the NBA, only Dirk Nowitzki previously had a deal with a higher salary volume.
In any case, it is a monster contract, and Hartenstein was also lovingly teased about it by his former teammate Josh Hart: “Zay, you are dead to me, I never could stand you anyway. But congratulations on a sack full of money,” Hart wrote on social media.
Farewell to the New York Knicks after two years
Hartenstein has already said goodbye to his team via Instagram, with a black and white photo in a Knicks jersey: “Thank you NYC for taking in my family. It was an incomparable time. New York will always have a special place in my heart.”
In his two seasons at Madison Square Garden, Hartenstein, born in Oregon as the son of a German college basketball player and matured into a professional player in Quakenbrück, has developed into one of the best players in his position. Last season, he was one of the Knicks’ absolute top performers. Hartenstein was on the court for an average of 25 minutes, scoring 7.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
Favorite of the fans at Madison Sqaure Garden – and of Shaq
The fans in New York learned to love him especially for his fighting spirit and his work under the baskets. And so did the expert celebrities on TV channels: Shaquille O’Neal repeatedly highlighted Hartenstein’s achievements during the playoffs.
Hartenstein played a significant role in the Knicks making it to the conference semifinals for the second year in a row. He had several strong performances in the playoffs. In the semifinal game five against the Pacers, Hartenstein grabbed 17 rebounds, including 12 on the offensive board, equaling the Knicks’ 30-year-old playoff record.
Offensive rebounds in particular are so valuable because they offer a team a second chance to score points, which is noticeable in the total: In Hartenstein’s record game against the Pacers, the Knicks scored 26 so-called “second chance points”.
Hartenstein sought after – “perfect fit” for OKC
With his consistently good numbers on the board, Hartenstein, who became a free agent at the end of the season, has become one of the most sought-after role players on the market. And that probably made him too expensive for the Knicks, but Oklahoma City apparently still had enough cap space, and the Thunder are happy to pay the 2.16-meter-tall man $29 million a year in the future. OKC was number one in the Western Conference in the regular season, but was one of the weakest rebounding teams in the NBA.
Hartenstein could now be the crucial piece of the puzzle to make the Thunder a real title contender. The reporter from the local newspaper “Oklahoman” greeted him as a “perfect fit”, as a “perfect reinforcement”. Oklahoma City is the fifth stop in the NBA for the former national player. The leader of the young OKC team is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who came second in the vote for the most valuable player (MVP) for the 2023/24 season last season.
Klay Thompson will probably play alongside Maxi Kleber at the Mavs
There was also good news for another German NBA pro, Maxi Kleber of the Dallas Mavericks: According to ESPN information, Klay Thompson will join the Mavs. The superstar and four-time NBA champion, who was the second most important shooter alongside Steph Curry at the Golden State Warriors for years, is set to earn $50 million over three years with the Mavs. This also illustrates the dimensions of Isaiah Hartenstein’s NBA career.
2024-07-02 13:36:45
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