Former Celtic Brandon Hunter lifeless at 42

Former Celtics ahead Brandon Hunter handed away on Tuesday, per College of Ohio head coach Jeff Boals.

Tim O’Shea, Hunter’s coach at Ohio, posted on Fb that Hunter collapsed throughout a yoga class in Orlando, Fla. He was 42 years outdated. 

“We stayed in contact over time, and I used to be extremely happy with the husband, father and citizen he grew to become,” O’Shea posted. “Please preserve his household in your prayers.”

The Celtics drafted Hunter with the 56th decide within the 2003 NBA Draft. In his rookie season, Hunter averaged 3.5 factors and three.3 rebounds per recreation in 11.3 minutes per recreation. He made his NBA playoff debut that 12 months, taking part in in three out of the 4 video games in Boston’s first-round sequence towards the Indiana Pacers.

His time in Boston was to be short-lived, nevertheless. Hunter was chosen by the Charlotte Bobcats within the 2004 NBA enlargement draft and was finally traded to the Orlando Magic. He signed with the Milwaukee Bucks the next season, however by no means performed a recreation with them. Hunter left the NBA to start a prolonged, profitable profession abroad.

Hunter’s time spent in Europe gave him a deeper understanding of the enterprise facet of basketball. Upon retiring from the sport, he labored as an actual property dealer and a basketball agent earlier than founding his personal sports activities administration firm, Hunter Athlete Administration, in 2021.

Earlier than becoming a member of the Celtics, Hunter was a star at Winthrow College Excessive Faculty and later led the NCAA in rebounds with the College of Ohio. Throughout his 4 years (1999-2003) in faculty, he made the All-Mid-American Convention First Group thrice. He was inducted into the Ohio Athletics Corridor of Fame in 2022. 

Hunter’s spouse, Mary and two children, Andrew and Tristan will stick with it his legacy. Along with his passing, a number of folks misplaced a teammate and good friend.

“We simply spoke final week,” posted former teammate T.J. Ford on X, the platform previously often called Twitter. “Dropping numerous my pals recently.”