Brandon Hunter (November 24, 1980 – September 12, 2023) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). After a college basketball career with the Ohio Bobcats, leading the NCAA in rebounding in 2002–03, he was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

in the second round of the

2003 NBA draft The 2003 NBA draft was held on June 26, 2003, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The NBA announced that 41 college and high school players and a record 31 international players had filed as early-entry candidates ...

. After playing one season apiece for the Celtics and the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The franchise was establ ...

in the NBA, he started a journeyman playing career, mostly in Europe.

High school career

Hunter attended Withrow High School in his hometown of Cincinnati. With the Tigers he averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds as they reached the state semifinals during his junior year. He committed to Ohio, playing in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) of the NCAA Division I, prior to his senior year. In 2017, Brandon was inducted into the Withrow Athletic Hall of Fame with Xavier product and NBA standout Tyrone Hill, Horace Pumphrey (football), Joe Brefeld ( baseball, basketball,

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

) and Skyler Willis ( volleyball,

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

College career

Hunter ranked third for scoring (11.3 ppg) and second in rebounds (6.2 rpg) during his freshman year in 1999–2000, leading to a selection to the MAC All-Freshman Team."Prospect profile: Brandon Hunter."
'

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

''. Retrieved on June 9, 2015. Playing more than nearly 33 minutes per game (first for the team) during his

sophomore year In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

, he finished in the conference top five for scoring (18.1 ppg) and rebounding (9.4 rpg, 23rd in nation). Good performances in the MAC tournament, including a record 32 free throw attempts in three games, led to a selection to the All-Tournament Team, also making the 2001 All-MAC First Team. His junior season provided similar numbers, again leading the team in minutes, scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg, 41st in nation), with a successive All-MAC First Team selection. He declared as an early entry candidate for the NBA draft in May 2002 but he did not hire an agent – retaining his eligibility – and declared he would withdraw if he wasn't considered "first-round material", which he did later. Hunter reached his college career peak as a senior, leading the whole NCAA Division I in 2002–03 with 12.6 rebounds on average. Hunter added 21.5 points, 2.6 assists, 1.2 blocks and 0.8 steals on average, also leading the nation in doubles-doubles (24). Four MAC Player of the Week nominations would lead to his third consecutive All-MAC First Team selection, on par with former Bobcat Gary Trent, he also led his team in scoring and rebounding for the third season in a row. His career 1,103 rebounds and 2,012 points allowed him to join the exclusive 2,000-point, 1,000-rebound club. As of 2015, he ranked as the best rebounder in Ohio University history, the fifth-best scorer, joint ninth-best shot blocker (87), also ranking first in free throws made (561 out of 923, also first).

Professional career

NBA

Hunter was selected as a second round draft choice (56th overall) by the

in the

. He played in the

Reebok Pro Summer League The Reebok Pro Summer League, known originally as the Shaw's Pro Summer League, was a professional basketball developmental league hosted by the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) during the league's off-season at Clark ...

with the Celtics, averaging 16.3 points (fifth for the league, second for the Celtics) and leading the Celtics with 8.2 rebounds per game (third overall, ahead of Udonis Haslem and LeBron James) in 32.8 minutes per game (first for the Celtics), being named to the tournament first team alongside Devin Brown of the San Antonio Spurs and Donny Marshall of the New Jersey Nets. This led to him signing a contract with the Celtics in July 2003. Hunter played his first NBA game on January 9, 2004, wearing the number 56 as a symbolic nod to his draft position. He played 36 games for the Celtics in his rookie season, averaging 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game in his rookie season. He played in 3 of the 4 games of the

playoff series There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

against the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

, who swept the Celtics in four games. Hunter was left unprotected by the Celtics and was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats in the 2004 NBA Expansion Draft on June 22, 2004. He didn't play a season game for the Bobcats as he was traded to the

for Keith Bogans on November 1, 2004. In Orlando he averaged 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds on average in 31 games. Hunter's final NBA game ended up being during his time with the Magic. His final game was played on April 20, 2005, in a 93–98 loss to the Miami Heat where he recorded 4 points and 3 rebounds. Hunter was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks as a free-agent in September 2005 but was waived a month later. After a stint with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball m ...

Hunter moved overseas. Brandon was then signed by the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers (often referred to as the Cavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

on October 3, 2006, joining LeBron James and playing in the NBA Summer League before being released two weeks later. In 2007, he returned to the US and played in the 2007 Summer League for the New Jersey Nets.

International

The American joined Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League in 2006, playing in two league games and two Euroleague games, after a hand injury in one of the latter games, he was released.Caratenuto, Angelo
"Hunter, a hard man with a heart is Napoli's last buy."
'' la Repubblica'', March 17, 2006. Retrieved on June 9, 2015. Hunter then joined Carpisa Napoli of the Italian Serie A in March 2006. Returning to the U.S. after the end of the season, he was signed by the

on October 3, 2006, playing in the NBA Summer League before being released two weeks later. Hunter then returned to Italy, signing with TDShop.it Livorno where he played for the 2006–07 season as Livorno finished last. After a 2007 Summer League participation for the New Jersey Nets yielded no contract, he joined his third Serie A team,

Angelico Biella Pallacanestro Biella, known as Angelico Biella for sponsorship reasons, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Biella, Piedmont. It plays in the second division Serie A2 as of the 2015-16 season. For past club sponsorship names, see ...

where he played the whole Serie A season. Hunter joined Capitanes de Arecibo of the Puerto Rican Baloncesto Superior Nacional later in 2008, leaving in May over disagreements due to him attending tryouts in the U.S., he then played in the Summer League for the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. Hunter returned to Italy for the fourth consecutive year, this time with

Premiata Montegranaro Sutor Basket Montegranaro, is an amateur Italian basketball club based in Montegranaro, Marche. It plays in the Promozione (7th division) as of June 2015. It was formerly in the top division, with the 2013-14 season its last in Lega Basket Serie ...

, he finished the 2008–09 season as the league's best rebounder. Hunter joined Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Basketball Super League for the 2009–10 season, with Hapoel reaching the Final Four, whilst they also reached Europe's second tier Eurocup quarterfinals, with Hunter contributing two week MVP performances, in January, and March 2010. Hunter joined

Aliağa Petkim Aliağa Gençlik S.K., known as Aliağa Petkim for sponsorship reasons, was a professional basketball team from the district of Aliağa in İzmir, Turkey. Their home arena was the Enka Sport Hall with a capacity of 2,500 seats. The team competes ...

of the Turkish Basketball League, playing part of 2010–11 there before finishing the season with Latvians

BK Ventspils BK Ventspils is a professional basketball club that is located in Ventspils, Latvia. The club competes in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League. History BK Ventspils was founded in 1994. In first years Ventspils proved themselves as relevant pa ...

. In 2011–2012 he played with German side BBC Bayreuth in the

Basketball Bundesliga The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) (English language: ''Federal Basketball League''), for sponsorship reasons named easyCredit BBL, is the highest level league of professional club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season ...

. Returning to Israel, he joined Hapoel Gilboa Galil, playing there until January 2013, when he joined French team Orléans Loiret Basket in the Pro A as an injury replacement player. He stayed until April 2013, again signing as an injury replacement for French team ALM Évreux Basket, of the second division

Pro B The LNB Pro B, commonly known as Pro B, is the French basketball league system, 2nd-tier level men's professional basketball league in France. It is the second division of the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB), which has organized the league since t ...

. A stint with Uruguayan champion Club Atlético Aguada of the Liga Uruguaya de Basketball from August to November 2013 was his last playing experience.

Coaching career

Hunter coached in the Cincinnati area with the private coaching service CoachUp.

Personal life

As of June 2015, Hunter worked as a

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

, he also worked as an NBPA and FIBA certified sports agent. As of June 2021, Hunter founded the full service sports management company Hunter Athlete Management. Hunter held an endorsement contract with the basketball brand

AND1 AND1 is an American footwear and clothing company specializing in basketball shoes, clothing, and sporting goods. AND1 was founded on August 13, 1993. The company focuses strictly on basketball and is a subsidiary of Sequential Brands Group. It s ...

. Hunter died on September 12, 2023, at the age of 42. It was reported that Hunter was performing

hot yoga Hot yoga is a form of yoga as exercise performed under hot and humid conditions, resulting in considerable sweating. Some hot yoga practices seek to replicate the heat and humidity of India, where yoga originated. Bikram Choudhury has suggested ...

at an

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

yoga studio when he collapsed.

Career statistics

NBA

Source

Regular season

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Playoffs

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

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