Isaiah Hartenstein was skeptical. Only a few games into the Thunder’s experiment of starting Hartenstein and Chet Holmgren alongside each other, the chemistry between the two big men was clunky on both ends of the floor. Hartenstein could feel it. Anyone watching could see it.
Holmgren, the No. 2 pick in the 2022 draft, had been a center all his life. But the Thunder, knowing it had to beef up its front line after a Round 2 loss to the Mavericks in 2024, signed Hartenstein that summer in free agency to do just that.
Because both dealt with injuries, it wasn’t until February of last season that Holmgren and Hartenstein finally started alongside each other.
“The first couple games, we didn’t think it was really going to work out,” Hartenstein said.
The Thunder looked its best with one center on the floor. Having Holmgren start, and Hartenstein backing him up, seemed like the answer (with an emerging Jaylin Williams playing spot minutes as a third big.)
Fifteen months later, and with one championship already in tow, the idea of not starting Hartenstein sounds absurd. The Thunder has bashed the Suns and Lakers in these playoffs thanks in part to its double-big tandem.
Mark Daigneault loves to be exploratory — and borderline daring — with his lineups, but credit the Thunder coach for seeing the Holmgren-Hartenstein fit through.
“We were pretty confident it could work, because the goal is to get your best players on the court, and they’re two of our best players,” Daigneault said. “It’s our job to figure out how to make that work, and we have a team that dances with us on that.
“And ultimately their heart being in it is important. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing — if they’re not fully invested in it, it’s not gonna work.”
But oh has it.
Holmgren, arguably the Thunder’s most impactful player through six postseason games, had 22 points, nine rebounds, three assists, four steals and two blocks in the Thunder’s Game 2 win against the Lakers on Thursday. Hartenstein had 10 points, nine boards, two steals and two blocks.
Remember when the Mavericks’ frontcourt duo of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford made the Thunder look small in this very playoff round two years ago? Feels like a decade ago. That was also the series when Josh Giddey got benched.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti addressed both issues the following offseason. When Giddey asked for a trade, Presti flipped him to Chicago for Alex Caruso (seems to have worked out). Presti also signed Hartenstein, the former Knick, to a three-year, $87 million deal — the most OKC had ever spent on a free agent.
Those were championship-sealing moves, and now the Thunder is vying for another.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got even better and Ajay Mitchell broke out, but what makes this Thunder team even scarier than the last is the cohesion between its pair of 7-footers.
Just about every Thunder lineup combination is elite, but last year when Holmgren and Hartenstein shared the floor, the Thunder outscored opponents by 13.5 points per 100 possessions. This year, that number vaulted to 20.9 points per 100 possessions.
The Thunder bullied the overmatched and undersized Suns in Round 1, and now Holmgren and Hartenstein are making easy work of the Lakers’ bigs in Round 2.
Both are critical to the Thunder’s offense — Holmgren with his floor spacing and play finishing and Hartenstein with his passing, screening and that delicate floater — but they’re even more lethal on defense. Holmgren is the spindly shot blocker and all-around disrupter. Hartenstein is the enforcer, the organizer and the chief rebounder.
“They’re not only great rim protectors, they’re really versatile defenders that do a lot of things for us,” Daigneault said. “When they’re out there together, it’s incredibly impactful. I’d throw J-Will in there. He’s about as disciplined and intelligent and physical (player) as there is. He’s taken I don’t know how many charges already in this series. He’s in the middle of everything, too.”
Jaylin Williams offers shades of both starting centers offensively. He can shoot like Holmgren and pass like Hartenstein. And while not the same caliber of defender, Williams has improved immensely on that end of the floor. The former second-rounder out of Arkansas is overqualified to be a third big, but that’s what makes the Thunder great. The roster is filled with guys who would play a larger role on almost any other team.
“Mark has a big toolbox,” Hartenstein said. “We have so many different ways we can play. It’s definitely unique. But I think also, the way our team’s built is that we really don’t have any egos, and I think that’s what helps Mark kind of just do whatever’s best for the team.”
The Thunder has the personnel to be the aggressor or counter puncher in any situation. It can match teams big-for-big in ways it couldn’t pre-Hartenstein. And if a team wants to play small against OKC? Well, good luck. Daigneault can either zag by going big or match the opponent with a small-ball lineup. Either way, advantage OKC.
“That’s the goal, is to have as broad a menu with (as much) quality as possible,” Daigneault said.
The Thunder is a Michelin star restaurant but with as many offerings as The Cheesecake Factory.
“If you don’t have quality,” Daigneault said, “it doesn’t matter what you put out there.”
It goes back to what Daigneault said about finding ways to get his best players on the court, even if it requires some shuffling.
The power-forward version of Holmgren became an All-Star. Maybe even an All-NBA player, as we’ll soon find out. His 17.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game in the regular season were both career highs.
After averaging 11 points and 11 rebounds in his debut Thunder season, Hartenstein averaged nine points and nine rebounds this season, albeit in fewer minutes. His field goal percentage and rebound percentage both increased.
And the partnership between Holmgren and Hartenstein blossomed.
“I think we just did a great job working with each other, watching film,” Hartenstein said. “We were together all summer. I think it’s just (trying) to make each others’ lives easy, and I think we’ve really found the right way to do it.”
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at [email protected]. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
