De'Andre James Hunter (born December 2, 1997) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

of the

National Basketball Association 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 ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the Virginia Cavaliers and was named

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to recognize the top defensive player in United States college basketball. The award has been given since 1987 and was previously kn ...

for 2019. Hunter scored a college career high of 27 points in the 2019 NCAA Championship Game and became a lottery pick in the NBA after his redshirt sophomore season, despite being ranked outside the top 100 as a high school recruit.

High school career

Hunter attended

Friends' Central School Friends' Central School (FCS) is a Quaker school which educates students from nursery through grade 12. It is located in Wynnewood, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania in Greater Philadelphia. The school was founded in 1845 in ...

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The community was named in 1691 for Dr. ...

. As a junior, he averaged 21.6 points, 11.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, while being named Pennsylvania Class AA Player of the Year. As a senior in 2016, Hunter averaged 23.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 blocks per game. Hunter was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the 72nd overall recruit and 14th best small forward in the 2016 high school class. On September 12, 2015, Hunter committed to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, choosing UVA over other offers from

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The university ...

and Notre Dame.

College career

During his redshirt freshman season, Hunter scored double figures in 16 games, including in 11 conference games. During a game against

Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

, Hunter scored the final 3 pointer to win the game at the buzzer. Hunter broke his wrist during the 2018 ACC tournament and could not play in the 2018 NCAA tournament. Without Hunter, the number 1 seed Virginia went on to lose in the first round to the number 16 seed,

UMBC The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

. After this season, Hunter was named to the All-ACC All-Freshman team, as well as being named the ACC Sixth man of the year. In his freshman season, Hunter posted 9.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Hunter later announced that he would return to Virginia for the 2018–2019 season despite speculation that he could declare for the 2018 NBA draft. In his sophomore season, Hunter averaged 15.2 points per game and 5.1 rebounds per game. He helped lead Virginia to another #1 seed in the 2019 NCAA tournament. Virginia would win the 2019 Championship game 85–77 behind Hunter's 27 points and 9 rebounds, including a game-tying 3 with 12.9 seconds left in regulation. Following his second season, Hunter announced his intention to forgo his final two seasons of collegiate eligibility and declare for the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, i ...

, where he was taken 4th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers and later traded to the Atlanta Hawks.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2019–present)

On June 20, 2019, Hunter was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 4th overall pick in the

, and then traded to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Anthony Davis trade, and then again to the

along with Solomon Hill in exchange for picks Nos. 8, 17 and 35 in the

. On July 7, 2019, the

announced that they had signed Hunter. On October 24, 2019, Hunter made his NBA debut, starting in a 117–100 win over the

Detroit Pistons The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...

and finishing with fourteen points and two rebounds. Hunter began the 2020–21 season in the starting lineup for the Hawks. On January 24, 2021, Hunter recorded a career high of 33 points against the Milwaukee Bucks. In his 18th appearance of the season, Hunter suffered a knee injury in a game against the Wizards. Going into the All-Star break, Hunter posted averages of 17.2 points per game and 5.4 rebounds per game, leading to the NBA naming him to the Rising Stars roster. Although he appeared in two games in the month of March, in all, the aforementioned injury kept Hunter out of the lineup for three months. He returned for the Hawks in a May 10 game against the Wizards in a limited capacity. In the final game of the regular season, Hunter logged 24 minutes, scoring 14 points. The following season, on February 4, 2022, Hunter scored 23 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in a 125-114 loss to the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

. On April 26, 2022, Hunter scored a playoff career high of 35 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Despite his effort, the Hawks would lose the game 97-94 against the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The club plays its home games at FT ...

, eliminating them from the playoffs in five games. On October 17, 2022, Hunter agreed on a four-year, $95 million contract extension with the Hawks.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 63 , , 62 , , 32.0 , , .410 , , .355 , , .764 , , 4.5 , , 1.8 , , .7 , , .3 , , 12.3 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 23 , , 19 , , 29.5 , , .484 , , .326 , , .859 , , 4.8 , , 1.9 , , .8 , , .5 , , 15.8 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 53 , , 52 , , 29.8 , , .442 , , .379 , , .765 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .4 , , 13.4 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 139 , , 133 , , 30.7 , , .434 , , .359 , , .785 , , 4.1 , , 1.6 , , .7 , , .4 , , 13.2

Playoffs

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, 5 , , 5 , , 30.4 , , .400 , , .375 , , .750 , , 4.0 , , .6 , , .2 , , .6 , , 10.8 , - , style="text-align:left;",

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, 5 , , 5 , , 34.9 , , .557 , , .462 , , .800 , , 3.8 , , .6 , , .8 , , .2 , , 21.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 10 , , 10 , , 32.6 , , .496 , , .429 , , .778 , , 3.9 , , .6 , , .5 , , .4 , , 16.0

College

, - , style="text-align:left;", 2016–17 , style="text-align:left;",

, style="text-align:center;" colspan="11",

Redshirt , - , style="text-align:left;", 2017–18 , style="text-align:left;",

, 33 , , 0 , , 19.9 , , .488 , , .382 , , .755 , , 3.5 , , 1.1 , , .6 , , .4 , , 9.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", 2018–19 , style="text-align:left;",

, 38 , , 38 , , 32.5 , , .520 , , .438 , , .783 , , 5.1 , , 2.0 , , .6 , , .6 , , 15.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 71 , , 38 , , 26.6 , , .509 , , .419 , , .773 , , 4.4 , , 1.6 , , .6 , , .5 , , 12.4

References

External links

Virginia Cavaliers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, DeAndre 1997 births Living people 21st-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players All-American college men's basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Philadelphia Friends' Central School alumni Los Angeles Lakers draft picks Shooting guards Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players