A backup center who never got a real chance with the Denver Nuggets has had a big impact on getting his team to the NBA Finals — something that’s true of both the Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
The latest contribution was a bit shocking, with Thomas Bryant hitting three 3-pointers to tally 11 points as the Pacers closed out the New York Knicks in Game 6 over the weekend.
The big man from Indiana is the de facto fourth center on the depth chart for Indy, as they only traded for him in panic for a second-round pick back in December. Both James Wiseman and Isaiah Jackson suffered Achilles tears early in the season, leaving the Pacers with a gap behind Myles Turner. Bryant got the role after being traded from Miami, but he struggled at times in the playoffs, pushing him behind Tony Bradley. Though Bradley was hurt for the final game of the Eastern Conference Finals, so Rick Carlisle was left with little choice but to play Bryant, and the journeyman was great.
The Nuggets also traded for Bryant mid-season and got to the NBA Finals, but in Denver, he never had a huge impact. He didn’t play a meaningful minute in the playoffs. Michael Malone never gave him a great chance to prove capable behind Nikola Jokic, so he was just a vibes guy on the bench.
Nobody is saying the Nuggets made a mistake as they floored through the Finals in 2023, and it didn’t seem like re-signing Bryant made much sense. It’s just notable to see a former Denver player do well in a big spot elsewhere.
But one move the Nuggets would likely want back is dumping Isaiah Hartenstein and two second-round picks for JaVale McGee at the 2021 deadline. McGee barely played as the Nuggets moved through to the second round that season. Though the trade was made when Jamal Murray was healthy, it seemed Denver was going to make a championship push after trading for Aaron Gordon. McGee was a proven veteran coming off an Olympic Gold Medal and had won the NBA title in three of the prior four seasons. While some saw Hartenstein’s upside, Malone gave him less than 300 minutes in a Nuggets uniform.
A year later, Hartenstein popped up with the Clippers as a strong backup, then he went to New York, where he blossomed into one of the better centers in the league, earning a $87 million deal with OKC this past summer — a move many believe has put the Thunder over the top. Unlike Bryant’s sporadic and surprising contributions, Hartenstein has been one of the 68-win Thunder’s best players all year long.
So we’ll likely see two former Nuggets on the floor, battling each other down low at some point during this year’s NBA Finals. It’s something to keep in mind as Denver is likely to seek yet another center behind Jokic, a role they haven’t been able to get right despite many different fills since Mason Plumlee left after the 2020 playoffs.
