Isaiah Hartenstein

About

Isaiah Hartenstein ( HAR-tən-shtyne, German: [ˈhaʁtn̩ʃtaɪn] ) (born May 5, 1998) is an American and German professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Listed at 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m), Hartenstein plays the center position.
Before playing in the NBA, Hartenstein played in Germany before playing in Lithuania for Zalgiris Kaunas, with which he won a Lithuanian League championship in 2017. After he left Lithuania in 2017, the Houston Rockets selected him with the 43rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft, but he did not make his NBA debut with the Rockets until the next season. In 2024, Hartenstein signed with the Thunder and won the 2025 NBA Finals in his first season with the team. He has also played for the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Clippers, New York Knicks, and the Germany national team.

Born in Eugene, Oregon, Isaiah Hartenstein is the son of Florian Hartenstein, a basketball coach and former professional basketball player, and Theresa Hartenstein. His mother is a White American, and his father is half African-American and half German. Isaiah’s parents met in the United States while his…