Once-clunky duo of Chet Holmgren, Isaiah Hartenstein is now perfect fit for OKC Thunder
At first the fit was clunky between Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. Now the Thunder's double-big tandem is dominating.
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.
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