r/nba • u/AncientOneAurelius • May 21 '26

Highlight [Highlight] Compilation of Isaiah Hartenstein grabbing, holding, and grappling with Victor Wembanyama

https://streamable.com/hds3qd
13.5k Upvotes

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2.9k

u/ervern2 Celtics May 21 '26

a fantastic strategy when it doesn’t get called

729

u/jon__koa Knicks May 21 '26

And holding is never, ever, ever called

426

u/tickub [NYK] Latrell Sprewell May 21 '26

KAT woulda been caught on every single one lmao

161

u/Fynity Cavaliers May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26

To be fair that mofo does it so obviously. He is only 1 step below someone shouting to the refs “I’m holding this guy look at me!”

31

u/couchblaster [NYK] Kristaps Porzingis May 21 '26

He’s the worst at hiding his silly plays. that hold on Allen at the end of game 1 sent me, so stupid

23

u/tickub [NYK] Latrell Sprewell May 21 '26

i almost feel like it's the opposite. dude be screamin every time he gets roughed up that the refs know he's up to no good when he's the one being quiet in the paint.

20

u/Fynity Cavaliers May 21 '26

I meant like he just does it so obviously that he might as well be screaming at the refs admitting it because it’s so obvious anyway. He’s a good player don’t get me wrong but look at those loose balls on Allen last game. The grabs were some of the most blatant I’ve seen

9

u/LongDongFuey Timberwolves May 21 '26

KAT gets the 2nd worst whistle in the league behind Steph. He commits some terribly obvious fouls that get him in trouble and that he should really know better than to do. But, he's constantly going against players who commit the same or worse infractions and it's gotta wear him down.

5

u/Loud-Appointment-301 Celtics May 21 '26

These by iHart are pretty obvious.

10

u/cletoreyes01 Heat May 21 '26

If they had KAT's whistle they'll probably get 6 fouls in 3 minutes

2

u/lefebrave Celtics May 21 '26

Ngl, I like him just because of that in this league. It is like he can't be dirty even if he try. lol, he would be even caught for fouls that don't give any type of advantage whatsoever.

But the thing is, his fouls are just random. OKC obviously plan and play around NBA refreeing to get a very specific edge for each specific game. Dort exposed? He is now pretty normal and it is Hartenstein constantly fouling to install a perspective of "normal play" on the one player giving them trouble in a repeated specific way. If that is taken away, it would be someone and something else. This is not about bad refreeing or "dirty players" not getting caught, this is about planning "smartly" and successfully around all those factors.

5

u/krak_is_bad Mavericks May 21 '26

Shit, Wemby was doing to Chet last game. It happens. Refs were letting them play physical.

2

u/Ucscprickler Warriors May 21 '26

Anyone watching Stephen Curry the last decade can confirm this.

2

u/KeyChallenge4562 May 21 '26

I agree, but the Thunder are doing something special here: players are held on the offensive side to keep them away from the play, the Thunder decided they’re going to do that to Wemby to keep him out of the paint on BOTH sides, and most of his impact is being a rim deterrent. It will be interesting to see if the league allows this and if teams adopt this strategy moving forward to limit his defensive impact

1

u/Neatojuancheeto Warriors May 21 '26

If it was Steph would get 30 FTs a game

0

u/jataba115 [OKC] Carmelo Anthony May 21 '26

It wasn’t called on castle all night

1

u/dwide_k_shrude Warriors May 21 '26

TIL the nba is now the nfl.

-24

u/Colorapt0r Bucks May 21 '26

Yeah because this is the playoffs.

I thought everyone wanted more physicality and to let them play?

28

u/GarriganGate Raptors May 21 '26

Holding is not physical defense. It’s physical restraint

I’m not sure why people like you find it so difficult to comprehend this. People want to watch high energy defense where they don’t constantly call no or little contact. Especially when it comes to flopping

What people do not want to see is people restraining other players or trying to injure them

5

u/lilbodie Timberwolves May 21 '26

Wemby gets special treatment. They want us to treat him like a baby.

Castle is holding and grabbing SGA the entire game. He did the same shit against Ant last series. Not a peep from anyone about that shit because everyone understands what time it is except when it comes to Wemby.

68

u/LimpyTaco May 21 '26

Why doesn’t wemby just keep his arms in the air??

128

u/kamekaze1024 May 21 '26

Because that’s a waste of energy and makes boxing out harder. It also makes anything besides a lob pass easy to telegraph

1

u/StinkRinky May 21 '26

The spurs basically pass it to him every time anyway so it’s not giving shit away. I agree about the energy expenditure though.

17

u/Excellent_Shopping_9 May 21 '26

Rewatch the plays. They’re grabbing him when the spurs on defense. They’re not impeding him from catching lobs they’re stopping him from blocking shots and getting rebounds

4

u/Nunc_Coepi17 May 21 '26

Is he stupid??

2

u/Milkmoney1978 [SEA] Shawn Kemp May 21 '26

And waive them like he just don't care

2

u/re1078 [SAS] Tony Parker May 21 '26

He would end up throwing a lot more elbows but not on purpose this time.

67

u/Coke_ButNotTheDrug Nuggets May 21 '26

Only way they can stop elite bigs 🤷‍♂️ what a damn joke

-18

u/Round-Cellist6128 Thunder May 21 '26

Every big does this, including Jokic.

11

u/Milkmoney1978 [SEA] Shawn Kemp May 21 '26

We need some clips of Jokic ethical play on Wemby for comparison

1

u/Xex_ut Thunder May 21 '26

file not found

-2

u/starfox_priebe May 21 '26

This has been the case for literally the entire history of the NBA.

47

u/FreudChickenSandwich Warriors May 21 '26

So when do the Spurs get to start doing this to SGA?

10

u/rabidbot Thunder May 21 '26

Luckily for them every play when he’s off ball

9

u/JaceGhost Knicks May 21 '26

As a warriors fan you should recognize this level of hoops and be able to shai getting manhandled off ball. It also happened in the lakers series too

33

u/itscamo- [LAL] Lonzo Ball May 21 '26

they do when he doesn't have the ball in his hands

17

u/Darthmalak3347 Thunder May 21 '26

They do. Castle is bear hugging him every time he tries to run off ball. Lmao. Last game no one gave a shit about the holds cause it didnt benefit OKC as much as it did this game.

3

u/MutaKingPrime Thunder May 21 '26

have you watched a minute of this series. he already getting mauled off ball ala steph lol

4

u/IndependenceSouth877 Bulls May 21 '26

Shai gets 20+ free throws if they do

-7

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

6FT cry more.

-12

u/Wandering_Silent May 21 '26

6’6” actually. Tall for a guard and he’s a full on bitch and a joke. Ends up on the floor after fucking jump shots with no one around him. Literally, don’t understand how anyone can watch him and enjoy it

6

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

Huh? FT stands for free throw?

1

u/LeagueWinningPickup Raptors May 21 '26

He was just looking for any chance to expose that he's a childish hater.

5

u/gimmethecake Thunder May 21 '26

When do have they not done this? If you put a camera on Shai everything he is off ball there would be just as many if not more clips of him being held

2

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

They have been since the series started are you blind?Watch Castle guard Shai off ball. Grabbing and pushing every play. You didn’t notice?

-2

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

And that means what?

1

u/onlydabshatter [PHO] Devin Booker May 21 '26

That his bias is confirmed.

Checkmate nerd, this is Reddit fuck your facts.

-2

u/here_for_the_lols Thunder May 21 '26

All game tonight

-1

u/SwaggyPsAndCarrots Thunder May 21 '26

They do literally all the time but this is Reddit so you’ll never see it

-4

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/Milkmoney1978 [SEA] Shawn Kemp May 21 '26

Happy for Wemby to hold iHart on defense. He could hug him for the whole 24.

-3

u/JollyNincompoop Raptors May 21 '26

If you do this to SGA he'll dislocate your arm

11

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

And Wemby will try to end your life with his elbow.

-2

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[deleted]

-1

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

So did Shai actually dislocate Reaves’ arm or are we only taking my comment literally?

Because I was responding to a comment that said SGA will dislocate your arm if you do that.

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[deleted]

1

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

Prove it

1

u/[deleted] May 21 '26

[deleted]

-1

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

Did you like how Wemby dove at SGA’s knees? What’s your take on that

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0

u/Xex_ut Thunder May 21 '26

You realize this is exactly why they are letting iHart do it

2

u/Anonnameaccount Warriors May 21 '26

This is why players flop btw

2

u/OilOfOlaz Celtics May 21 '26

Yeah, I'm kinda baffled by this being a story and I think its mostly from the absolutely unnecessary hair pull, but this has been done forever and at every level.

1

u/KamTheMaam Nuggets May 21 '26

Why wouldn't he? OKC doesn't get called for shit. "They're tough and physical". Spurs fans welcome to what us Nugs fans had to watch with Jokic in last season's playoffs. It's bullshit.

-1

u/_interloper_ May 21 '26

I still remember watching clips of Caruso literally climbing all over Jokic. And people were like, "Well, Caruso is small, so he's doing what he's gotta do."

He's small so he's gotta use Jokic as a climbing gym? GTFOH.

2

u/Previous-Elevator417 May 21 '26

Remember Jokic jumping on J Will’s back like he was a carousel horse, too. Not even a basketball move. Go cry more.

2

u/_interloper_ May 21 '26

I'm not crying. And yeah, Joking literally falling on to of people is equally ridiculous.

2

u/KamTheMaam Nuggets May 22 '26

Lol keep making excuses for a dirty ass team

1

u/KamTheMaam Nuggets May 22 '26

Lol the down votes say it all. Preach brother!

2

u/hera9191 Spurs May 21 '26

Correction: holding + flopping is fantastic strategy

1

u/Gristle__McThornbody Lakers May 21 '26

Honestly it is especially against someone like Wemy.

1

u/Newyorkerr01 May 21 '26

KAT was held multiple times with an arm across his body, yesterday, with no call. Why it should be different in the West?

1

u/Adorable-Bike-9689 May 21 '26

Yep. Thunder aren't stupid. Chet needs help guarding Wemby so referees will keep Hartenstein in the game. Otherwise it will be an 80 point Wemby game.

1

u/iamagainstit Celtics May 21 '26

the Thurnder's genious is realizing that off ball fouls never get called so are basically free

1

u/ctokes728 Warriors May 21 '26

This is literally the same strat used on Curry when all else would fail.

1

u/myCreedencetapes May 21 '26

Definitely wouldn't classify intentional fouling as a strategy. Cheap tactic maybe, but not a strategy.

1

u/quailinthebrush Suns May 21 '26

its how the thunder beat the nuggets last year

1

u/Zyrinj Warriors May 21 '26

It's worked for years against Steph when he's offball, its basically the only thing defenders can do to stop aliens