Isaiah Hartenstein

Isaiah Hartenstein (born May 5, 1998) is an American-born German professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1]

Isaiah Hartenstein

Hartenstein with Germany in 2017
Free agent
Position	Power forward / Center
Personal information
Born	(1998-05-05) May 5, 1998 Eugene, Oregon
Nationality	German / American
Listed height	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight	249 lb (113 kg)
Career information
NBA draft	2017 / Round: 2 / Pick: 43rd overall
Selected by the Houston Rockets
Playing career	2015–present
Career history
2015–2016	Artland Dragons
2016–2017	Žalgiris Kaunas
2017–2018	Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2018–2020	Houston Rockets
2018–2020	→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Career highlights and awards
NBA G League champion (2019) All-NBA G League First Team (2019) NBA G League Finals MVP (2019) Lithuanian League champion (2017) King Mindaugas Cup winner (2017)
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Early life

Born in Eugene, Oregon, he is the son of Florian Hartenstein, a German basketball coach and former professional basketball player of Afro-German descent.[2] Isaiah's mother is American. His parents met in the United States when his father attended the University of Oregon.[3]

In 2008, Hartenstein and his family moved to Germany,[4] where his father was playing professionally.

Professional career

European career

Hartenstein joined the MTV Gießen youth ranks and continued his career at the youth teams of QTSV Quakenbrück/Artland Dragons, after his father had signed to play with the Artland Dragons in 2009.

In the 2013–14 season, Hartenstein led the Artland Dragons' junior team to a German championship in the Under-16 Bundesliga JBBL, while being named Most Valuable Player.[5] He averaged 20.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.9 blocks on the season.[6] His father Florian who served as head coach of the team was named JBBL Coach of the Year.

Hartenstein was selected to play in the 2014 Jordan Brand Classic International Game: He finished the game with four points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.[7]

Hartenstein helped the Žalgiris Kaunas Under-18 squad to win the qualifying tournament to the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament and was selected MVP.[8]

On February 1, 2015, Hartenstein made his debut in Germany's top-tier level Basketball Bundesliga, seeing 1:12 minutes of action against Eisbären Bremerhaven.[9]

In August 2015, Hartenstein inked a deal with Lithuanian powerhouse Žalgiris Kaunas, but he remained with the Artland Dragons on loan.[10] The Dragons had withdrawn from the Bundesliga, and were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga ProB, Germany's third division. Hartenstein played in 14 games for the Quakenbrück based side during the 2015–16 campaign, compiling averages of 11.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 1.6 steals and 1.4 assists.[11]

In January 2016, he decided to leave the Artland Dragons to join Žalgiris Kaunas.[12]

Hartenstein made his debut for Žalgiris in Lithuania's top-flight league, the LKL, on September 28, 2016 against Šiauliai[13] and in the EuroLeague against Fenerbahce on October 26.[14] Later in that season, he helped Žalgiris win their first ever King Mindaugas Cup.

NBA career

In February 2016, he attended the "Basketball Without Borders Global Camp" during the NBA All-Star Weekend in Toronto, Canada.[15]

On April 7, 2017, he scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds in 19 minutes of play at the Nike Hoop Summit.[16]

Hartenstein declared for the 2017 NBA draft on April 22, 2017. He was also named an invite for the 2017 NBA Draft Combine, but he ultimately declined participation for the event. On June 22, 2017, he was selected with the 43rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets[17] and subsequently competed for the team in the 2017 NBA Summer League.[18]

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2017-Present)

In the 2017-18 campaign, Hartenstein appeared in 38 games of the NBA G League, averaging 9.5 points and 6.6 rebounds a contest for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[19] On February 7, 2019, Hartenstein recorded his first career triple-double after posting 12 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists in a 103-102 road win against Salt Lake City Stars.[20] In the 2018–19 season, Hartenstein scored 33 points and made a career-high 8 3-pointers in the series-clinching game as they won the NBA G League championship with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[21] He won the NBA G League Finals MVP award.

Houston Rockets (2018–2020)

On July 25, 2018, the Houston Rockets signed Hartenstein.[22] After being sent down to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, he was suspended one game without pay after leaving the bench during an altercation in a 132-109 loss to the Memphis Hustle on December 17, 2019.[23] On June 23, 2020, the Houston Rockets announced that they had waived Hartenstein.[24]

International career

Hartenstein represented Germany at the 2014 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship[25] and the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship.[26] He also helped carry Germany to a fourth-place finish at the 2016 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship, averaging team-highs of 14.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.7 steals a contest,[27] which earned him a spot in the tournament's "All-Star Five".[28]

In August 2017, he made his debut with the German men's national team[29] and took part in EuroBasket 2017, averaging 4.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per game.[30]

Career Stats

Legend
GP	Games played	MPG	Minutes per game	FG%	Field goal percentage
3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage	RPG	Rebounds per game
APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game	BPG	Blocks per game
PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high		Led the league

Year	Team	League	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015-16	Artland Dragons	Bundesliga	14	24.0	.479	.425	.543	8.9	1.4	1.6	2.1	11.6
2016-17	BC Žalgiris	LKL	29	12.2	.490	.286	.705	3.5	.7	.9	.6	4.7
2017-18	Rio Grande Vipers	NBA G-League	38	18.7	.564	.343	.685	6.6	1.1	.5	1.1	9.5
2018-19	Rio Grande Vipers	NBA G-League	26	32.4	.627	.274	.646	14.7	3.8	.7	2.0	19.5
2018-19	Houston Rockets	NBA	28	7.9	.488	.333	.786	1.7	.5	.3	.4	1.9
2019-20	Rio Grande Vipers	NBA G-League	14	32.6	.587	.343	.661	14.7	4.4	1.3	1.1	24.9
2019-20	Houston Rockets	NBA	23	11.6	.657	.000	.679	3.9	.8	.4	.5	4.7
Career		All Leagues	172	18.5	.574	.322	.657	7.0	1.6	.7	1.0	9.7

References

1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/harteis01.html
2. Spears, Marc J. (2017-06-21). "There's more to Isaiah Hartenstein than meets the eye". The Undefeated. Retrieved 2018-10-05.
3. "Großer Mann, was nun?". "Die Zeit". 2015-06-15. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
4. "Isaiah Hartenstein: "Mein Ziel ist die beste Liga der Welt"" (PDF). "Artland Dragons". 2013-03-03. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
5. "Awards der Jugend Basketball Bundesliga". "NBBL". 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
6. "Isaiah Hartenstein Steckbrief". "NBBL". 2016-02-02. Archived from the original on 2016-09-14. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
7. "Official Basketball Box Score International Black vs International White" (PDF). "Jordan Brand Classic". 2014-04-18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
8. "2015-16 ANGT Kaunas Final". "adidasngt.com". 2016-01-17. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
9. "Boxscore Eisbären Bremerhaven - Artland Dragons". "Basketball-Bundesliga". 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
10. "Zalgiris invests in top German talent Hartenstein". "Euroleague". 2015-08-17. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
11. "Isaiah Hartenstein". "2. Basketball-Bundesliga". 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
12. "NBA prospect Isaiah Hartenstein leaves Quakenbrueck". "Eurobasket.com". 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
13. "Isaiah Hartenstein | Lietuvos krepšinio lyga". Tete-a-Tete Casino-LKL. Retrieved 2016-10-09.
14. "Fenerbahce Istanbul vs. Zalgiris Kaunas - Game". www.euroleague.net. Retrieved 2016-10-31.
15. "DraftExpress: Basketball Without Borders Global Camp Evaluations: Power Forwards". www.draftexpress.com. Retrieved 2016-02-28.
16. "LiveStats - USA vs World Select Team - Nike Hoop Summit". Retrieved 2017-04-08.
17. "Rockets Select Isaiah Hartenstein in 2017 NBA Draft". NBA.com. 22 June 2017. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
18. "Rockets to Compete in NBA Summer League 2017 | Houston Rockets". Houston Rockets. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
19. "Isaiah Hartenstein - NBA G League". NBA G League. Retrieved 2018-06-22.
20. "Rio Grande Valley Vipers 103 - Salt Lake City Stars 102". G-League Stats. February 7, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
21. "Long Island Nets 116 - Rio Grande Valley Vipers 127". G-League Stats. April 9, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
22. "Rockets Sign Isaiah Hartenstein". NBA.com. July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
23. "Four Rio Grande Valley Vipers Players Suspended". NBA.com. December 19, 2019. Retrieved December 24, 2019.
24. "Rockets Sign Free Agent David Nwaba". NBA.com. June 23, 2020. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
25. "ISAIAH HARTENSTEIN, Germany". "FIBA Europe". 2016-01-17. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
26. "U18 European Championship Men, ISAIAH HARTENSTEIN, Germany". "FIBA Europe". 2016-02-02. Archived from the original on 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
27. "Germany at the FIBA U18 European Championship Division A 2016 - FIBA.com". FIBA.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
28. "France crowned champions at FIBA U18 European Championship". FIBA.com. Retrieved 2016-12-22.
29. sportschau.de (2017-08-05). "Deutsche Basketballer verlieren ersten EM-Test" (in German). Retrieved 2017-08-06.
30. "Isaiah HARTENSTEIN (GER)'s profile". FIBA EuroBasket 2017.