The Oklahoma City Thunder revealed some frustrating news just days before the team begins the 2024-25 NBA schedule.
On Thursday, the Thunder bring their 2024 preseason schedule to a close with a home matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Then they will move on to preparation for their season opener on Oct. 24 against the Denver Nuggets. Unfortunately, the team will have to face superstar center Nikola Jokic without the expensive weapon they signed to guard him.
Related: Where do the Oklahoma City Thunder land in our NBA power rankings before opening night?
On Thursday morning ahead of their final preseason game, new ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania dropped some huge bad news for the start of the Thunder’s regular season.
“Thunder say Isaiah Hartenstein suffered a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand in Tuesday’s preseason game in Denver. And will be re-evaluated in five-to-six weeks,” Charania wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
How do the Oklahoma City Thunder fill Isaiah Hartenstein’s void for the next month?
So how will the Thunder deal with the loss of their starting center for at least the next month? Fortunately for OKC, they had the best record in the West last season without the former New York Knicks big man.
Head coach Mark Daigneault is likely to slot talented forward Chet Holmgren back into the center spot and play a similar starting five as they did last season. Which now also includes 3-and-D ace Alex Caruso. While it may hurt their rebounding and defense a little, third-year man Jalen Williams is projected to have a big season this year and he will be expected to help fill some of that void in the frontcourt.
Hartenstein is in year one of a three-year, $87 million contract he signed with the organization this summer.
Related: Where does Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rank among the best NBA players in 2024-25?
