“You play 10 minutes and whatever you do, it’s not good enough” – Isaiah Hartenstein reflects on his Nuggets days as Nikola Jokic’s replacement originally appeared on Basketball Network.
The story of how the Denver Nuggets stole Nikola Jokic with the 41st pick and shocked the league after he became a three-time MVP and delivered the franchise its first-ever title is already well-known. As a rookie, he didn’t get major minutes right away, as Jusuf Nurkic was ahead of him in the rotation. However, it didn’t take long for Michael Malone and his coaching staff to realize the value they had in their big man.
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But just as Jokic was starting to break out and enter MVP conversations, German center Isaiah Hartenstein was also on the roster. At that time, he didn’t bring much long-term potential as he was a role player, just one of many bigs in the Jokic era who didn’t get much run behind him. Hartenstein recently reflected on that period in a podcast appearance.
“Back when I was in Denver, I kept wondering why I wasn’t getting more of a chance,” he said. “For every guy who’s a backup for Jokic, that’s probably the hardest job in the world. You play 10 minutes and whatever you do, it’s not good enough compared to when Jokic does it. That was the hardest part. After that, I worked on my mental strength and everything started to get better.”
“I learned how to pass. I was already good, but the details — how he uses his eyes to direct players… I leveled up because I started seeing the game differently, I learned how to manipulate the game. But he’s so smart, his intelligence is off the charts. When we were in the playoffs, he was the coach. He told people where to go, what to do…”
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Hartenstein ended up winning the direct matchup against Jokic
Denver clearly didn’t show their expertise in evaluating talent in the frontcourt in Hartenstein’s case, as he later became an NBA champion with the Oklahoma City Thunder as their starting center.
Hartenstein was the perfect connector between the frontcourt and backcourt, slicing through defenses with his passing and being a beast on the offensive glass. Just how good he’s become was evident in a seven-game playoff series against Jokic this year, where he more than held his own.
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Jokic had the worst three-game stretch of his career, shooting just 19-of-63. Not all of that was because of Hartenstein, of course, but credit must be given as he fought like a warrior and ended up winning the direct matchup against Jokic. Still, the task wasn’t easy, as the German admitted that Denver was their toughest challenge in the playoffs.
“I think the only series where we were kind of a little bit on the ropes was Denver. Just Jokic, I mean, the way they play. They’ve been there before. And that was the only series where we were like, even if we do everything right, they probably still have a chance. Every other series, we were like, if we do the right things, we’re good,” he said.
Hartenstein has remained humble
Despite not getting a real opportunity in Denver because of Jokic and later eliminating him in the playoffs, Hartenstein has remained humble and even praised Jokic for how much he influenced his game. However, when you look at the numbers, he had career lows, outside of his rookie season, during his 30 games with the Nuggets.
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Back to the beginning — who knows where the Nuggets would have been had they seen the potential in Hartenstein, a player who can easily play alongside another big. They nailed the Jokic pick, no question, but have struggled to find a reliable backup ever since and it’s becoming a clear issue. The arrival of Jonas Valanciunas is a serious move. Still, NBA legend Eddie Johnson believes he’s headed down the same road as every other Jokic backup and that he should have returned to Europe.
“This is going to get ugly,” he stated on his X profile. “Again, he will never say it, but he knows his minutes will be minuscule and the critics will run rampant with the blame game. Basically, come back and play eight mins a game and have these Jokic stat nerds blame you with a plus/minus of how you are failing him. He like I am going to Greece!”
It’s hard to predict how Valanciunas will look coming off the bench for the Nuggets, but it’s even harder to imagine him getting significant minutes, given how much Denver has relied on Jokic since he entered his prime. Hartenstein felt that firsthand, but this season, he got a bit of revenge.
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This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.