A true inspirational representative! He was once Zhou Qi s substitute, but it only took him 8 years to go from a second-round pick to the 9th MVP!

With the start of the new season, one-eighth of the NBA schedule has passed, and many players have performed well, such as Luka Doncic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Victor Vunbanyama and others. Without any surprise, they have reached the top five in the first MVP ranking of the new season.

Looking at the entire MVP rankings, there is one person whose appearance can be said to surprise fans. He is Isaiah Hartenstein, who is ranked ninth. Although he helped the Thunder win the championship last season, he is just a blue-collar player after all. Being ranked in the MVP list this time undoubtedly proves that his performance this season has improved again.

In fact, Harten was not a top rookie back then. He was from Germany. When he participated in the NBA draft in 2017, he was not selected until the 13th pick in the second round. In the eyes of the scouts at the time, this guy with average talent seemed likely to be eliminated by the NBA at any time.

But now, eight years have passed, and Harten has not only continued to stay in the NBA, but has also achieved great success with the Thunder. He has won a championship and a big contract. There is no doubt that he is a truly inspirational representative. Let us take a look at how he completed the counterattack!

used to be Zhou Qi's substitute and won opportunities through hard work.

In the summer of 2017, 20-year-old Harten participated in the NBA draft. Because his resume in the European leagues was not impressive and he was positioned as a blue-collar player, he did not receive much attention from teams until he was discovered by the Rockets in the second round. After finally entering the NBA, Harten was embarrassed to find that the Rockets' insiders did not lack immediate combat capabilities. The young Clint Capela, the old and strong Nene Hilario, and even Zhou Qi, who had just joined the team, were all trained before him.

So although he was selected, the Rockets did not give him a formal contract. Instead, he was sent to the Vipers to let him experience in the Development League. Hatten did not hesitate and accepted the team's arrangement. He spent the entire 17-18 season with the Vipers, averaging 9.5 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. The overall data was pretty good. In this way, the Rockets accepted Hatten and gave him a three-year low-price contract.

In the 18-19 season, Harten made his debut in the NBA. However, because the Rockets were the strongest team in the Western Conference after the Warriors at the time, they did not have much patience for Harten. In this case, he only played 28 games, averaging only 1.9 points and 1.7 rebounds per game. Most of the time, he was either sitting next to the water cooler or playing for the Vipers. But this time, Hatten has obviously fully adapted to the intensity of the Development League. He played 26 games and averaged 19.4 points, 14.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2 blocks per game, which can be called a dimensionality reduction blow.

Not only that, in this year's Development League Finals, he even scored 28 points and 15.7 rebounds, leading the Vipers to defeat the Long Island Nets and win the third championship trophy in team history, and he personally won the FMVP. This top performance made the Rockets very satisfied, so in the 19-20 season, he finally entered the Rockets' regular rotation, but he still only got 23 opportunities to play. Fortunately, he averaged 4.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, which has made great progress.

After moving to four teams, it completely broke out in the Knicks.

However, the Rockets already had plans to rebuild at that time, so they still laid off Harten before the 19-20 season was completed. Fortunately, Harten's outstanding performance in the Development League attracted the attention of many teams. In the end, the Nuggets gave him a two-year minimum salary contract and brought him to Denver.

But it seems that fate has not let him go. Here he only played 30 games. Before he could integrate into the team's system, he was used as a trading chip and sent to the Cavaliers. Here, he played 16 games, averaging 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. Although he did not help the team much, the improvement in statistics and hard work on the court can be seen by everyone. So at the end of the season, Harten, who had a player option, chose to opt out of the contract, and the Cavaliers refused to provide a qualifying offer, which made Harten a completely free agent. In the end, he completed the signing with the Clippers and returned to the Western Conference stage again.

There is no doubt that this choice is very correct. In the 21-22 season, the Clippers, because Kawhi Leonard and Paul George were almost unable to play due to injuries, everyone on the team had opportunities, and Hatten undoubtedly seized the opportunity and impressed Tyronn Lue. Although he still failed to get the starting position, his number of appearances has reached 68 times, and his data has remained at 8.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists. This performance has also successfully converted his contract into a full guarantee. And soon, after the season, the Knicks gave him a two-year, $16.7 million contract.

Finally, Harten came to the Knicks and ushered in the long-awaited breakout. Although the data in the first year was only 5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists, with Mitchell Robinson suffering multiple injuries, in the 23-24 season, Harten became the team's first choice for center, contributing 7.8 Points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks, fully interpreting the role of a blue-collar player, and in this year's playoffs, his performance was equally outstanding, averaging 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game, successfully attracting the attention of the Thunder.

successfully won the championship and is now on the MVP list.

The Thunder in the 23-24 season have completed their rise, but because the team's interior is indeed somewhat empty, young Chet Holmgren cannot fully support the system. Therefore, in the 2024 offseason, the team quickly reached an agreement with Hatten from the free market and signed him to the team with a three-year $87 million contract. However, at the time, many media believed that Hatten was not worthy of the contract. After all, he was just a blue-collar worker. However, Hatten quickly proved his worth. In the regular season, he averaged 11.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. While providing the team with stable rebound protection and frame protection, the basket became more stable, and he even developed a certain ability to support the team.

In the playoffs, he repeatedly helped the team overcome difficulties and finally won the championship. Of course, Harten's progress has not stopped yet. This season, he can still steadily contribute 10.7 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists, helping the Thunder secure first place in the Western Conference. Such outstanding performance completely impressed the media and reporters, so he was directly ranked 9th in the new MVP list. Although he will most likely fall off the list in the future, this is definitely the best reward for Harten's efforts.