OKLAHOMA CITY (USA) - Isaiah Hartenstein has established himself as a very solid starting center in the NBA, averaging a double-double for the Oklahoma City Thunder - the team with the best record in the league.
Now, hopes are rising in Germany that Hartenstein might play again for the defending world champions.
Hartenstein over the past year has told various media outlets that he would like to finally return to the German national team, but only if everything aligns in his favor.
I definitely want to play for the national team again and give something back to Germany
"I definitely want to play for the national team again and give something back to Germany - maybe even win a title," he told the Sportbild magazine in early January.
"If my body feels good after the long season, I want to play in the summer. So far there has been no contact with the new national coach (Alex Mumbru), but my goal is to be back on the court for Germany soon."
Hartenstein is, however, very much focused on his club season right now. When asked if he is considering playing this summer at the FIBA EuroBasket 2025, he told the Sportschau in late January: "I haven't thought much about next summer. That will come at the end of the season."
Hartenstein is spending his seventh season in the NBA - either solely the NBA or with time in the NBA G-League. The 26-year-old has not played for the German senior national team since the November 2017 and February 2018 windows for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 European Qualifiers.
Hartenstein does have one major competition under his belt, averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds in four games at the FIBA EuroBasket 2017 - at age 19. Hartenstein also helped Germany take fourth place at the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2016.
Hartenstein multiple times said he has yet to speak with Coach Mumbru, who took the reins of the German team from Gordie Herbert after Germany finished fourth at the 2024 Olympics. And the star center emphasized that the NBA is his number one priority - as well as his family. He and his wife had a child last May.
Even though German captain Dennis Schroder has said he would like to see Hartenstein play with the German team, the center could not give a three-year commitment - something the team wanted to have over the span of 2022 to 2024. Including the playoffs, Hartenstein appeared in 93 games in 2022-23 and 88 games last season - both for the New York Knicks.
"I definitely want to play but I will not say I can make a four-year commitment. You play 82 games, and every season I have been in the playoffs, which is not so good for the body," Hartenstein said on the DynBasketball podcast.
"How hard I play during the season, I always need a little longer to recover. And the past years (being unavailable for the national team) it's been because I didn't have a contract or was injured. I definitely want to play. That will be my next step. You never know. When it will all works out I will talk to them."
Until then, Germany fans will have to wait and hope that Hartenstein can give the world champions another boost.
FIBA