NBA center Isaiah Hartenstein is opening up on how people react when they find out he's actually Black ... saying the experience is like something straight out of a "Key and Peele" sketch.
The 25-year-old hooper's teammates, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, got right to the point when they invited him on their "Roommates" podcast this week ... when the former asked Hartenstein straight-up, "Are you Black?"
The six-year vet broke it all down ... explaining his dad, Florian, is Black.
"You know how it's like lightskin? I'm brightskin," Hartenstein said. "I'm above lightskin."
The 7'0" big man went on to point out there's one big difference he notices after folks learn he's Black ... and he compared it to the famous skit from the Comedy Central show, when Jordan Peele's Barack Obama character bases his handshake approach on race.
"When they find out I'm Black, it changes," Hartenstein added. "The whole vibe changes -- it goes from, 'Hey Zay, how are you doing?' to 'Yo, Zay, what up, man? You good?'"
Hartenstein even said Hart did the same thing to him ... and the guard backed his claim, calling the revelation "crazy."