Isaiah Hartenstein Sends Heartfelt Message to Knicks Before NBA Finals

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein was one win away from playing against his former New York Knicks team in the NBA Finals. But with a Game 7 loss to Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, he’ll now have to watch his former teammates from afar.

Hartenstein suited up for the Knicks for two seasons from 2022-24. He found a home in New York after bouncing around between five different franchises in the first four seasons of his NBA career.

Hartenstein helped the Thunder win an NBA title in his first season with the franchise. Now, he’ll be rooting for the Knicks to claim the franchise’s first title since 1973.

“Happy for them. I kind of got there when they were getting back on track, redoing everything,” Hartenstein said. “What Leon Rose a those guys did, to now be in the Finals is pretty cool, even just for the city.”

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“It’s just cool to see,” he continued. “I’d rather be playing against them, but just rooting for them now. There’s a lot of guys I know, a lot of guys I’m pretty close with. Just happy for them.”

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Game 1 of the NBA Finals matchup between the Knicks and Spurs will tipoff at 8:30 p.m. ET from San Antonio’s Frost Bank Center on Wednesday.

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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 3:47 PM.