What happened to Isaiah Hartenstein? Latest injury update for OKC Thunder's free agency signing

The Oklahoma City Thunder have released an injury report featuring their latest recruit, Isaiah Hartenstein. NBA Insider Shams Charania reported on the incident on X, formerly Twitter, briefing his 2.4 million followers on the news.

As per Charania, Hartenstein suffered a fracture in his left hand during Tuesday's preseason game against the Denver Nuggets. The NBA insider revealed that Hartenstien will be sidelined from any action until his revaluation in five to six weeks.

"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 tweeted.

This is disappointing news for OKC fans in the community as Hartenstein had shown great chemistry with Chet Holmgreen in their preseason games. In his first game in an OKC jersey, the 7-foot center came off the bench to score 4 points, collect 8 rebounds and provide 7 assists to his teammates against the San Antonio Spurs.

Considering the rest period Charania mentioned, fans can expect Isaiah Hartenstien to return around Nov. 28 if his revaluation goes in a positive direction. By Nov. 28, the center would have missed 19 regular season games for his new team.

Hartenstein is arguably OKC's biggest acquisition this offseason. As per Spotrac, the former Knicks player had signed a three-year $87 million deal with the Blue and Yellow in free agency. However, now that he is injured, coach Mark Diagneault would have to change his plans right before the start of the new season.

Tim Legler identifies Isaiah Hartenstein as an upgrade to OKC's offense

The Oklahoma City Thunder were arguably one of the best teams in the league. They made a deep run in the playoffs where their journey came to an end in the Conference Semifinals at the hands of the eventual conference champions, the Dallas Mavericks. OKC's star player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had an incredible individual season and finished runner-up in the MVP rankings.

They had a great offense to begin with but NBA expert Tim Legler pointed out the importance of Isaiah Hartenstien to the lineup.

"Isaiah Hartenstein’s gonna help Chet Holmgren most. He’s guarding the biggest, strongest guy on the floor. He’s absorbing the contact on the offensive rebound. You saw Chet get thrown around a lot when he was the only big on the floor leading to offensive rebound opportunities. Isaiah Hartenstein’s eating up all that contact." Legler said on NBA on ESPN.

Legler pointed out that the presence of Isaiah Hartenstein allowed Chet Holmgreen to have more space on the ground opening up more options for the OKC to rebound and make plays. The Thunder will now be without Hartenstein for several weeks.