The New York Knicks have established themselves as one of the premier teams in the league, and their former center deserves some credit.
Over the past few years, the Knicks have steadily transformed from a lottery team into a championship contender. Considering the Knicks are set to compete for an NBA title again next season, there isn’t much for the team to regret in recent years.
However, one departure certainly still stings for the Knicks and their fans. In the 2024 offseason, the Knicks lost free agent center Isaiah Hartenstein to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After Hartenstein had spent two seasons in New York breaking out as a legitimate starting center, he left the Big Apple for a big payday. In a recent Bleacher Report article, Dan Favale named Hartenstein as one of the league’s most underrated players, and his time in New York is a great example of his underappreciated impact.
While Hartenstein has since ascended to NBA champion status with the Oklahoma City Thunder, he earned his monster deal last offseason because of his tenure with the Knicks. As an elite rebounder and a solid passing big man, Hartenstein’s value has skyrocketed in recent years as he was finally given time to develop and find a clear role in the NBA.
After some other stops where he was underutilized, Hartenstein found a way to break out under Tom Thibodeau, and his time in New York played a massive part in the Knicks’ ascension to title contention. Although Hartenstein won’t be around next season if the Knicks make the NBA Finals, he could still easily be on the other side of that matchup as he continues to show the world how good he is in Oklahoma City.