Isaiah Hartenstein name-drops Nikola Jokic while talking up own passing skills

Soon after inking his lucrative new deal with the OKC Thunder this past offseason, Isaiah Hartenstein generated quite a bit of buzz during his introductory presser when he personally described himself as "one of the best passers in the NBA."

While many may have initially viewed this statement as a prime example of high-end self-confidence, now entering the third month of his first regular season with the club it has become rather evident that the veteran has more than backed up this type of talk by walking the walk.

Through 17 games played Hartenstein finds himself posting career-best numbers all across the board, including in the distribution department where he's dropping 3.8 assists per night.

However, as of late, the 26-year-old has seemingly brought his passing game to an even higher level. Since December 28's matchup against the Hornets, he's regularly been found setting up cutters with perfectly placed bounce passes and kicking out to motion shooters while averaging 5.0 assists.

Thursday, Hartenstein would tie his season-high of 6 assists during OKC's 116-98 win over the LA Clippers, a personal feat that generated serious attention from both fans and pundits alike.

Following the contest, reporters asked the Thunder center how his passing skills ultimately came together. In response, he noted that while his upbringing in youth basketball played a sizeable role, the person who "helped a lot" in honing this area of his game is Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.

Thunder big credits Nikola Jokic with helping him hone passing skills

"Playing with Jokic also helped a lot. Just asking him questions, being with him a lot kind of took my passing to another level for sure," Hartenstein said.

Hartenstein was teammates with Jokic for a brief 30-game stint during the 2020-21 season. Based on his comments and obvious development as a distributor during the years since, it seems this short stay in the Mile High City and alongside the game's GOAT passing pivot was more than enough to help elevate his skills in this area of play himself.

Interestingly enough, leading into Thursday's game Clippers coach Tyronn Lue found himself going on a praise-filled tangent concerning the Thunder big's passing abilities, even revealing that he used to refer to I-Hart as "Baby Joker" during the one season he played under him in Los Angeles back during the 2021-22 campaign.

With every passing game, Hartenstein proves that he was well worth the lofty $87 million investment Oklahoma City made in his back in July. He's not only managed to provide this team with elite screening, rebounding, and rim-protecting abilities but has blown past expectations as a dime-dropper, and these skills shined as bright as ever during the club's league-leading 13-straight win.