Isaiah Hartenstein has made two long-awaited returns following injury spells during his 2024-25 debut season with the OKC Thunder: one in mid-November and, most recently, on January 26.
Interestingly enough, both instances saw the big square off against the Portland Trail Blazers, a matchup that, fortunately, has been quite kind to I-Hart.
Directly following a five-game shelving due to a strained calf muscle, the veteran was thrust back into his regular role as Oklahoma City's primary pivot without any restrictions this past Sunday.
While at times he appeared a bit sluggish and a tad rusty, as the night carried on it became overtly visible that he started to get his groove back.
He would wrap up his night with a highly impactful stat line of 14 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1 block while shooting 83.3 percent from the field in 32 minutes of action en route to a 118-108 win.
Of course, counting metrics alone don't necessarily tell the full story of how an individual performed or how they assess their own play, which is why reporters were quick to ask Hartenstein about how he felt following Sunday's return to action.
Fortunately, it appears he was pleased with his showing both from a production and stamina standpoint, though highlighted one area of his game that he believes he could have been better in during the contest.
Isaiah Hartenstein opens up on play during return game with Thunder
"[I felt] good. Couldn't hit a free throw to save my life but it was good. Everything else was good," Hartenstein said.
This assessment is exactly what Thunder fans were hoping to hear from Hartenstein, as the ball club has suffered extensively from injuries within their frontcourt rotation and has struggled to sustain their immense level of success on the year while being forced to run small ball lineups (have gone just 6-4 without him or Chet Holmgren in the fold).
The fear of re-injury is overwhelming when it concerns return games, especially with players who measure in on the taller end. When considering their play of late against bigger and bulkier teams like the Dallas Mavericks, for instance, it's growing more apparent by the day that having their bigs back and fully healthy will be vital to Oklahoma City's title aspirations.
Hartenstein seems to have come back to action without any hiccups. The next step is to see whether Holmgren can experience a similar return, which, based on the latest reports, could be coming within the next month.
With either one of the bigs playing in a full game this season, the Thunder boast a sensational record of 31-3.