Isaiah Hartenstein's new offensive skill revealed in training camp

The Oklahoma City Thunder thrives on allowing players to shine on offense. Most of the time, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander takes charge because he is the most skilled and natural scorer on the roster. However, players like Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren have the green light to shoot whenever the defense allows them to.

Much is the same for the new acquisition, Isaiah Hartenstein. He is not the most prolific scorer, but he is skilled around the rim and has shown some range with a jump shot with good mechanics.

"Yeah, I've been shooting them. Getting back into rhythm and more reps, and just keep building off them. Mark's giving me the confidence to shoot them," Hartenstein said on Day 3 of Training Camp.

"I'm not gonna tween-tween behind-the-back step-back, that's not happening," he added. "But when I get them in the corner, I'm definitely gonna shoot it."

Hartenstein's threes add dimension to team

The Thunder got used to running a five-out offense in the 2023/24 season because every player was willing to shoot three-pointers. This was possible because Chet Holmgren, an excellent shooter from the outside, filled the center position.

Now that I-Hart is with the team, most people would expect the team to run a more traditional play style. They will likely stick Hartenstein in the paint, but he does not mind stretching the floor and popping out into the corners to hit a three.

Having Isaiah as a three-point threat is an excellent way to diversify the offense because teams expect him in pick-and-roll situations or low posts. Hartenstein popping out and hitting threes can make the defense second-guess what OKC will do and make the team's offense less SGA-centric.

Spacing is essential for Daigneault

I-Hart is not the only player Coach Mark Daigneault has encouraged to keep shooting threes.

The efficient Jalen Williams and Aaron Wiggins are at the top of Mark's list of players who must shoot more when they can. They are high in efficiency metrics, and the coaching staff wants to increase their efforts because they are most likely going into the hoop.

Having players like Hartenstein, Wiggins, and J-Dub shoot threes makes the Thunder a more challenging team to defend. As long as these role players stay confident in their shot mechanics, the Thunder's future is bright.

Related: Hartenstein hilariously chooses between Shai and Chet in recent video