Isaiah Hartenstein playing for the New York Knicks in 2024. Image courtesy of Newsday
It is no secret that the New York Knicks thrived last season due to a unique mix of skill and chemistry. The core of the team won the NCAA championship together at Villanova back in 2016, leading to the nickname “Nova Knicks.” But a key piece of last year’s team has now departed.
Isaiah Hartenstein cemented himself as a core component of last year’s Knicks team, serving as a defensive and rebounding machine when Mitchell Robinson went down with an ankle injury. But in the 2024 NBA offseason, Hartenstein hit free agency, where he signed a three-year, $87 million contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That was simply far more money than the Knicks could offer.
Josh Hart Jokes
While Hartenstein was not a member of the “Nova Knicks,” he was still a huge part of the team. The Knicks will have a replacement in Mitchell Robinson, but there is no question that the departure of Hartenstein will sting. Notable jokester Josh Hart commented on this reality during his podcast.
Hart joked on the latest episode of The Roommates Show, a podcast he hosts with Jalen Brunson, that Hartenstein is “dead to us” following his departure. This comes three days after Hart posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Hartenstein was dead to him, but congratulated him on getting his payday.
It is hard to believe that Hart was being serious, as the locker room was extremely tight and well-knit. Knowing Hart’s personality, it is almost certain that he was joking, with his post and podcast comments serving as a light-hearted jab.
Hartenstein’s Impact
The Knicks know what they have to do now that Hartenstein is gone, and perhaps that is also what Hart meant. Now that Hartenstein is no longer in the picture, he is “dead” to them as he is no longer in their plans.
Hartenstein played a career-high 25.3 minutes per game last season, and in that span averaged 7.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game – not bad numbers for a primarily-defensive player. Speaking of defense, he also logged an average of 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per game last season.
Last season, Hartenstein had the second-highest offensive rebounding rate in the NBA, rebounding 14.4% of his teammates’ missed shots in the net. With him on the Knicks last year, opponents averaged 6.4% fewer points scored when he was on the court, as opposed to when he was off the court — that would extrapolate to the third best defensive efficiency rating over a full season.
There is no doubt that Josh Hart and the Knicks will miss Hartenstein as he leaves for greener pastures in Oklahoma City. But the Knicks know they have a job to do, and that is to win the Eastern Conference for the first time since 1999, and bring New York their first NBA championship since 1973.
