Isaiah Hartenstein had a front-row seat for the New York Knicks’ 2026 title run, even if he was wearing Oklahoma City blue by then.
The Thunder center followed the 2026 NBA Finals with a little extra interest, watching to see whether his former Knicks teammates would finish the job. They did, and they did it in emphatic fashion. New York ripped through the playoffs with a 16-3 run, stacked together a historic 13-game winning streak, and turned most of its games into blowouts before gentlemen-sweeping the San Antonio Spurs in the Finals.
That championship came in a season where the Knicks didn’t even meet Phil Jackson’s old benchmark of “40 wins before 20 losses” in the regular season. Still, the postseason told a much different story.
Hartenstein, who spent two seasons with New York from 2022-24, saw that stretch up close before using it to springboard into a full-time starter role and a move to the Thunder. At 2026-27 Thunder Media Day, he said it was gratifying to watch that group finish the climb.
"Yeah, it was great. Again, I played with so many of those guys.
You're with them for so long, you go through so many different things," Hartenstein said. "It was just great to see that they won and great to see that the work they put in has all worked out.
I talk a lot with OG. So it's cool for me to see him have those big plays and be able to win a championship."
The Thunder and Knicks both head into the 2026-27 season as popular championship picks, and a possible 2027 NBA Finals meeting would naturally put Hartenstein’s path through both franchises back in the spotlight. His departure from New York surprised plenty of Knicks fans, but it opened the door to a title in Oklahoma City and, potentially, more.
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