Knicks Center Draws Greek-Based Laughs on ‘Jimmy Kimmel’

If this whole basketball thing doesn’t work out for New York Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein this summer, perhaps a new path in advertising and/or acting awaits.

Hartenstein, a free-agent-to-be, appeared on Thursday’s edition of “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to appear in a send-up of local advertisements featuring star athletes. The seven-footer humorously hawked Greek cuisine from Los Angeles landmark Papa Cristo’s with the assistance of market/restaurant owner Chrys Chrys (referred to as “Papa Cristo himself”).

View the full sketch here (h/t New York Basketball on X).

“I grew up in Germany but when it comes to eating food, it’s all Greek to me,” Hartenstein declares in a relatively wooden manner such real-world advertising is famous for. “I pita the fool that eats anywhere else.”

Other staples include Hartenstein putting a non-basketball item through a hoop (in this case, a bottle of Papa Cristo’s olive oil selection), poorly-rendered CGI, and exaggerated props, as the video ends with Hartenstein and Chrys riding an oversized gyro.

Hartenstein perhaps draws the most laughs with his poor pronunciation of Greek delicacies, encouraging would-be customers to come down for “moose cake,” “Baby Gandhi,” and “spanky pee pee,” all of which are respectively corrected by an increasingly annoyed Chrys as moussaka, baba ganoush, and spanikopita.

Fortunately for Hartenstein, who formerly played his games two miles away from Papa Cristo’s for the Los Angeles Clippers at Crypto.com Arena, he won’t be looking for acting work if his past two seasons with the Knicks are any indication.

Hartenstein proved to be an invaluable part of the Knicks’ success over the last two seasons after coming over from the Clippers. This time around, Hartenstein stepped into the New York starting lineup when Mitchell Robinson went down with a long-term injury. Hartenstein even retained the spot once Robinson healed en route to averaging a career-best 8.3 rebounds per game. Despite the Knicks’ relatively early elimination, Hartenstein continues to lead all NBA Playoff participants in total offensive rebounds with 49, one ahead of NBA Finals partaker Dereck Lively.

All that and more will make Hartenstein one of the most, if not the most, attractive … or, as his new countrymen would declare “elkystikós” … front court free agents on this summer’s player market.

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