The New York Knicks are playing in the NBA playoffs for the semifinals for the first time in ten years. An important role comes to Isaiah Hartenstein – a 2.13 meter hiker from Lower Saxony.
The New York Knicks season is usually over by this time of year. When the playoffs begin in the NBA, the traditional club from Manhattan is either not there at all or failed early on. But this spring, thousands of Knicks fans in their blue and orange jerseys and T-shirts are still flocking to Madison Square Garden in early May – and they are even doing so with confidence and hope.
For the first time in a decade, the Knicks won a playoff round that eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers in five games. Now they are dueling with the Miami Heat for a place in the semifinals. An important 111:105 home win was achieved on Tuesday. Important because Miami won the opening game 108-101. “We had a few problems, but in the end we got the win. But that’s just a win. We still need three more,” said Isaiah Hartenstein to sportschau.de after the game
Hartenstein delivers “physical spark”
It’s not that often that the 24-year-old has to attend a press conference. Because that’s where the best throwers usually answer questions from the media. And so Knicks’ power forward Julius Randle, who had scored 25 points, sat at the dark table in the modest interview room at Madison Square Garden, followed later by teammate Jalen Brunson (30 points). But between the two Hartenstein had also taken a seat on one of the folding chairs, which was much too small for him.
New York’s German center only had three points on his stats sheet, but he also had a good nine rebounds. And in this game he was an example of the fact that pure data doesn’t say everything about a professional’s performance. That all the energy he expended on defense, all the power and intensity with which he often fought off Miami’s Allstar Bam Adebayo from under the basket, doesn’t necessarily translate into numbers, but it was still so important to the win. The New York Post headlined the following day: “Hartenstein Delivers Physical Spark The Knicks Needed.”
Isaiah Hartenstein fighting for the ball.
Disinterested, however profitable moves
He is “responsible for many things” in the team, says Hartenstein. The national player, who is 2.13 meters tall and weighs 113 kilograms, is considered an “energy guy”, i.e. a kind of power cable. Hartenstein is the one who gives energy to his own team with his intensive style of play, who should push them. He also describes himself as a man for the “IQ plays”. That means he should, for example, cleverly stand in the way to give a teammate space and time for the throw.
And that worked very well several times in the second game against Miami. Coach Tom Thibodeau praised Hartenstein for his “disinterested but winning plays.” According to Thibodeau, they needed the Knicks – and “Isaiah made them for us.”
Quakenbrueck, Lithuania, USA
Hartenstein draws the power for his intensive style of play from the ranks of the renowned arena. “The fans are 1A, they just give you so much energy,” he says – and with this sentence he immediately has to think of his games as a 16-year-old for the Artland Dragons in the basketball league. “I come from a hall with 3000 spectators and now I’m playing here in Mecca. That’s very special.”
From northern Germany to New York – what sounds so nice was a long, hard road for the Lower Saxony. He started out with basketball at TSV Quakenbrück, as father Florian played for the Artland Dragons in the Bundesliga from 2009. When Hartenstein Senior became a youth coach at the club after the end of his career, he also coached his son. He, as Florian Hartenstein once said, actually had no chance of not becoming a basketball player.
An eternal traveller
In 2016, at the age of 18, Hartenstein left his parents’ home for Lithuania and joined Zalgiris in Kaunas. A year later, the Houston Rockets drafted him. Hartenstein relocated to Texas and spent empty stints with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets’ G-League farm team. In the deciding win to win the championship on April 12, 2019 against the Long Island Nets, he had 30 points, picked up 17 rebounds and was named the Finals Series Most Valuable Player (MVP).
In between, Hartenstein also got some NBA assignments with the Rockets, but Houston canceled the contract in the summer of 2020. Hartenstein’s journey continued, from the south of the USA to the center of the country, to the Denver Nuggets. But after just a few months, the team gave him to the Cleveland Cavaliers in March 2021. In 16 games, the German played almost 18 minutes and averaged 8.3 points. Nevertheless, he did not feel at home with the Cavs.
Established in NBA last season
Hartenstein arrived on the US West Coast in the fall of 2021 with the Los Angeles Clippers. Hartenstein says he has the feeling of having established himself in the NBA “last season”. His numbers back that up. 68 games, average playing time: 17.9 minutes. Point average: 8.3. But the Clippers chapter was over after just one season. Next stop: New York Knicks.
Isaiah Hartenstein, still in the LA Clippers jersey.
In the summer of 2022, Hartenstein signed for two years in the metropolis. And the eternal seeker seems to have finally found his sporting home. In the NBA you never know what’s going to happen, he emphasizes – and he’s the perfect example of this statement. But New York and the North German – so far that fits perfectly. “I love New York, the fans, the atmosphere,” he says.
Haven’t missed a game yet
Hartenstein has played all 82 games of the main round for the first time. And he’s proven in the seven playoff games to date that he’s an excellent piece of the puzzle in the Knicks roster. Someone who faithfully fulfills their assigned role with pride and intensity. One that coaches, teammates and spectators appreciate for precisely this way of playing.
Miami has home advantage in the next two games. And the Heat will probably have Jimmy Butler available again, who was still injured in game two. The 33-year-old is a leader, driver, thrower and preparer all in one. Hartenstein calls him a “1A player” who will “already hit his shots”. “But we have to try and make it difficult for him.” This will again require a lot of energy. So there should be a lot to come again for the German power cable of the Knicks.