Isaiah Hartenstein receives the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award for his ongoing commitment to youth and the community.
NEW YORK, October 30, 2025 – The NBA and the NBPA today announced Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein as the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award winner for the 2025 offseason. Hartenstein and his foundation (Hartenstein Foundation) collaborated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Oklahoma County and Positive Tomorrows to provide a shopping spree for students and built a community basketball court.
Shortly after becoming an NBA champion in June, Hartenstein donated $10,000 to Positive Tomorrows—an organization that partners with families experiencing homelessness to educate their children and create pathways to success. Hartenstein followed that donation in September with an additional $12,000 to provide back-to-school supplies and essentials for students getting ready to start the school year.
As part of his efforts with the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County, Hartenstein unveiled a newly built basketball court at the Northeast Boys and Girls Club – gifted and dedicated by the Hartenstein Foundation. Hartenstein also provided a shopping experience for kids from the club to purchase back-to-school essentials and clothes.
During the summer, Hartenstein returned home to Germany to host the iHart festival from Aug. 6-12. Festivities included a 3v3 basketball tournament, slam dunk contest, music, food and a kid’s playground.
“Winning the award means a lot and being recognized for something like this is really special,” said Hartenstein. “At the end of the day, you don’t do it for awards, you really do it to give back to the community and change people’s lives.”
The NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award honors NBA legend and Hall of Famer Bob Lanier, an NBA League Office executive and NBA Cares Ambassador for more than 30 years. He had an enormous influence on the NBA family and young people globally, traveling the world to teach the values of the game and making a positive impact through his kindness and generosity. The legacy he built will continue to live on through the NBA Cares Bob Lanier Community Assist Award, which recognizes the next generation of players’ commitment to positively impacting their communities throughout the NBA season. Each NBA season has an offseason winner followed by seven monthly award winners. The offseason winner receives the Bob Lanier trophy, and each monthly winner receives the David Robinson trophy. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) Foundation will also make a donation to the charity or foundation of the player’s choice. To learn more, please visit https://communityassist.nba.com/.
