Former Boston Celtics player Brandon Hunter dead at 42
Hunter, a Cincinnati native, was selected by the Celtics with the 56th overall pick in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft. The 6-foot-7 power forward was a three-time First Team All-MAC player for the Ohio Bobcats. In his senior season, Hunter averaged 21.5 points per game and an NCAA Division I-leading 12.6 rebounds per game. He also finished his college career with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.
As a rookie, Hunter played in 36 games for the Celtics and started 12. He averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while playing 11.3 minutes per contest.
The Celtics left Hunter unprotected in the 2004 NBA expansion draft, during which he was selected by the Charlotte Bobcats. Hunter did not get a chance to play for the Bobcats before they traded him to the Orlando Magic in November 2004. He averaged 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds across 31 games with the Magic.
Hunter was signed by the Milwaukee Bucks as a free agent in September 2005, but was waived a month later. He had a brief stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers in October 2006 before embarking on an international basketball career that lasted into 2013.
“We just spoke last week,” Hunter’s former Bucks teammate, T.J. Ford, wrote on social media in reaction to the news. “Losing a lot of my friends lately.”
