The German basketball professional Isaiah Hartenstein, in his own words, considers participation in the Olympics to be very unlikely despite his current strong performances in the NBA.
For him, the league is number one, emphasized the 25-year-old from the New York Knicks in an interview with “Bild am Sonntag”. In Germany he could imagine owning a club and organizing training camps for young people to give something back.
“Of course I would like to play for the national team. But everything has to be right. I can also understand that the guys who have always played in recent years are playing now,” said Hartenstein.
The center, whose strengths lie more in defense, was not part of the world champion team last year and will also be a father for the first time this summer.
He has not had any real contact with national coach Gordon Herbert in the past two years. Now it has become something more.
“I was always very open about the fact that the NBA was my biggest priority. He wanted to have a certain consistency in the national team. I couldn’t promise him that,” explained Hartenstein. “I don’t want to force myself into it. There’s a team playing there now that has become world champions.”