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The Bricktown Brief · Player focus

Hartenstein's Efficiency Case for a Bigger Workload

Oklahoma City's low-usage anchor turned elite efficiency into results. What his 2026-27 workload needs to look like.

63.1%True ShootingElite efficiency on low usage
15.6Net RatingBest point swing on the roster
47Games PlayedMissed time last season
$23.1M2026-27 SalaryFirst year of a three-year deal
By the Thunder Nightly Desk · Thursday, October 1

Isaiah Hartenstein was one of the most efficient players in the league relative to his role last season, before an injury limited him to 47 games. The Thunder are paying him like a starter for three more years, and his health is the swing factor for what he can be in 2026-27.

Isaiah Hartenstein of the Thunder
Isaiah Hartenstein. Photo: Granada, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Efficiency Without the Ball

Hartenstein's 2025-26 line undersells his impact. In 47 games he averaged 9.2 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 24.2 minutes, shooting 62.2 percent from the field and posting a 63.1 true shooting mark on just 15.3 percent usage. His offensive rating of 118.8 and defensive rating of 103.2 produced a plus-15.6 net rating, the best swing of any regular contributor on a team that finished 64-18. He attempted almost no threes, going 0.0 percent on 0.1 attempts a game; his value comes from screening, rolling and cleaning the glass, not spacing the floor. That profile is rare for a center carrying this little offensive weight.

Rebounding and Playmaking

The rebounding case is just as strong. Hartenstein posted an 18.8 percent rebound rate and a career-caliber 18.9 percent assist rate for a center, the product of his short-roll passing out of the pick-and-roll. He added 1.0 steal and 0.8 blocks a game, with 1.7 turnovers, modest numbers that reflect a low-usage role rather than a limited one. Those marks came while playing alongside Chet Holmgren in a frontcourt that can switch across positions without losing rim protection.

Health and the Contract Ahead

Durability is the open question. Hartenstein played only 47 games last season, and he opens this season off a minor injury designation; the Thunder cleared him on October 1, with no further detail reported. The money says Oklahoma City is still betting on him: he is set to earn $23.1 million in 2026-27, then $25.0 million in 2027-28 and $26.9 million in 2028-29. The verdict for 2026-27 is simple: if he can push his games played total closer to a full season, the efficiency numbers already clear the bar for a difference-making starting center.

How many games did Isaiah Hartenstein play last season?

He appeared in 47 games for Oklahoma City in 2025-26, averaging 24.2 minutes.

What is Isaiah Hartenstein's contract with the Thunder?

He earns $23.1 million in 2026-27, with raises to $25.0 million in 2027-28 and $26.9 million in 2028-29.

By the Thunder Nightly Desk, written from the club's data and the reports on file, with every name and number checked against them. How the desks work.

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