Isaiah Hartenstein has a special reason to look forward to summer. “In June or July,” says the German basketball professional, he and his wife Kourtney Kellar, the former Miss Texas, will have a son. This is also why the in-form center of the NBA club New York Knicks shouldn’t be too upset if national coach Gordon Herbert doesn’t call before Paris.
“I don’t want to force myself into this. A team that has become world champions is now playing there. Not much will change anyway. On top of that, I’m going to be a father in the summer. Of course, as an athlete you want to take part in the Olympics. But at this point I see it as very unlikely,” the 25-year-old recently told “Bild”. And that despite the fact that Hartenstein shines in the Big Apple. In his sixth year in the NBA, he finally made his breakthrough.
Playoffs: Hartenstein with the Knicks against Philadelphia
“I have already proven in previous years that I have great potential,” said Hartenstein, who will have to solve the difficult task in the first playoff round against the Philadelphia 76ers around superstar Joel Embiid from Sunday night (midnight): “With the Knicks I got the opportunity to play a lot of minutes. I managed to become even better as a result. Last summer I also worked a lot of extra shifts to achieve this.”
The 2.13 meter giant started the season as a replacement for regular center Mitchell Robinson before his hour came when his rival was injured in the winter. Hartenstein jumped in, cleared under the basket right away and was so impressive as an anchor on defense with his rebounding qualities that head coach Tom Thibodeau continued to rely on him after Robinson’s return. The German is in an optimal negotiating position for the summer, when his contract worth around nine million US dollars ends.
Herbert is relying on his world champions at the Olympics
However, Hartenstein has to be patient when it comes to the national team, for which he has not played for six years. It can be assumed that Herbert will rely on Daniel Theis, Moritz Wagner, Johannes Voigtmann and Johannes Thiemann for the Olympics (July 26th to August 11th) – the gold heroes of Manila, who opted for three at the beginning of Herbert’s term in office committed for years. A promise that Hartenstein couldn’t make at the time.
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Nevertheless, Herbert observes Hartenstein’s achievements with benevolence. “It’s nice to see,” he said, “that he’s playing so well.” After the Olympics, when the three-year cycle ends, there could be a change with a view to the 2025 European Championships. With Hartenstein as a new face? “Even though I haven’t been invited in the last two years,” he told BIG magazine, “I’m willing to play for Germany – if it’s right.” (sid/fs)
2024-04-22 06:57:53
#German #NBA #star #misses #Olympic #Games #sad
