Isaiah Hartenstein returns to Germany with Larry O'Brien trophy

Now that it's August, the NBA has entered the driest part of its calendar. The next two months forecast a desert as everybody in the league heads to vacation. The offseason is over and rosters are set. Before teams start the 2025-26 season marathon, they'll enjoy some downtime.

For the Oklahoma City Thunder, that includes parading around their NBA championship. They had one of the greatest seasons ever with a historic 68-14 regular-season campaign. That dominance translated in the playoffs to a Larry O'Brien trophy.

Now that they won a ring, Thunder players have scattered across the globe to celebrate with their hometowns. Isaiah Hartenstein did that when he went back to Germany. He kicked off his inaugural "IHart Fest!" weekend event. It included a basketball clinic, dunk contest and tournament.

Hartenstein also brought home the Larry O'Brien trophy. It's always fun to follow the journey of the NBA champion. Players go back to their friends and family to flex the prestigious trophy. The 27-year-old previously talked about being excited to return to Germany with it.

The Thunder couldn't have won a championship without Hartenstein. He was a key player in their title run. He enjoyed a career season with 11.2 points and 10.7 rebounds. The double-double machine was mostly a starter in OKC's playoffs.

Hartenstein hopes for similar success in his second season on the Thunder. They will enter the 2025-26 season as a popular pick to repeat as NBA champions. If anybody can pull that off, it's one of the greatest teams ever running it back with mostly the same roster.

IHart brought the Thunder to Germany ⚡️@Ipjh55 turned Ulm 🆙 with a weekend full of basketball for his inaugural IHart Fest! The event included a basketball clinic, a dunk contest, tournament play and more! pic.twitter.com/JcXsGRItoq

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 3, 2025

IHart returns to his roots in Germany with gratitude and joy 🙌 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/1zKT3UAYvl

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) August 3, 2025

This article originally appeared on OKC Thunder Wire: Isaiah Hartenstein returns to Germany with Larry O'Brien trophy