R. J. Hunter

Hunter recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut against No. 8 Duke. He also scored 20 or more points 12 times during his freshman season, leading GSU in scoring 15 times. He earned Kyle Macy Freshman All-America honors, CAA Rookie of the Year, All-CAA First-Team and CAA All-Rookie Team after becoming the most prolific freshman scorer in Georgia State University history. Hunter finished the year with a school-record 527 points (17 PPG) and was one of just three freshmen in the country to average at least 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.[1]

Hunter in 2014

Hunter's trend of record setting continued into the rest of his career at GSU. Overall, he averaged 18.4 ppg, scoring 604 for the season and became the first Panther to make 100 3-pointers in a single season. That 3-pointer count was No. 16 in the NCAA. Hunter was excellent from the free-throw line, setting the school record in single-season average by hitting 88.2 percent (No. 1 percentage in the Sun Belt and No. 17 in the NCAA that season). As a part of that effort, he also set a school-record 38 straight free throws made. On defense, Hunter finished second in the Sun Belt and 49th in the NCAA with his 63 steals.

Many know Hunter from seeing highlights of his clutch buzzer-beater in the second round of the 2015 NCAA tournament, but hitting a shot like that was nothing new for him. In his sophomore year, Hunter scored a career-high 41 points against UTSA, making a school single-game-record 12 three-pointers. The 12 threes were also the most in the country during the year and set a new Sun Belt Conference record. In another game that year, he hit the game-winning shot with 11.1 seconds to play against Arkansas State. Another clutch shot came in a game in which Hunter scored 31 points including a crucial 3-pointer with seven seconds left at UT Arlington to send the game to overtime.[1]

Hunter was named Sun Belt Conference Basketball Player of the Year as well as the Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year.[2] He was also named the Men's Georgia College Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.[3]

In his final season at GSU, Hunter averaged a career-high 19.7 points, scoring a school-record season total of 688 points (a school record he broke each season). He also averaged 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. In addition, he made 202 free-throws (No. 7 in the NCAA that year), second-most in school history, while swiping 75 steals, third-most in a single season in program history. The most noteworthy record he set was total career points. Midway through just his third season, Hunter overtook Rodney Hamilton's record of 1,515 points with a basket in front of a GSU home crowd against UL Lafayette on January 24, 2015. Hunter finished the year with a career total of 1,819 points.

The Panthers finished the 2014–15 season as the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament champions. With their Sun Belt Tournament championship win over Georgia Southern, the Panthers received a bid to the NCAA tournament. In the round of 64, No. 14 seed Georgia State trailed the No. 3 seed Baylor by 12 points with just 2:53 to play. Hunter took over and scored 12 of the Panthers' final 13 points, including a 30-foot 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining to secure their electrifying come-from-behind upset win, which caused his coach (and father) Ron to fall off his stool in jubilation. The moment was selected as No. 2 in the NCAA's top 10 moments of the tournament, was included in the "One Shining Moment" montage following the championship game,[1][4] and was one of three nominees for the 2015 Best Upset ESPY Award.[5]

Hunter was again named both Sun Belt Conference Basketball Player of the Year and the Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year.[2] R.J. was also the only player from a school in Georgia to be named to the Naismith Trophy watch list that season.[6]

• All-time Georgia State University leader in points (1,819)
• All-time Georgia State University leader in free throws made (448), in free-throw percentage (.853), and in consecutive free throws made (38)
• All-time Georgia State University leader in 3-pointers made (253)
• Single-season Georgia State University leader in 3-pointers made (100, 2013–14)
• Single-season Georgia State University leader free-throw percentage (.882, 2013–14)
• Single-game Sun Belt Conference leader in 3-pointers made (12)
• Single-game Sun Belt Conference leader in free-throw percentage (1.000 16–16, 2015)

On June 25, 2015, Hunter was selected with the 28th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics.[8] On July 27, he signed his rookie-scale contract with the Celtics.[9] After averaging just 2.8 points per game over his first eight NBA games, Hunter scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench against the Atlanta Hawks on November 24.[10] During his rookie season, Hunter received multiple assignments to the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics' Development League affiliate.[11] On October 24, 2016, Hunter was waived by the Celtics.[12]

On October 27, 2016, Hunter signed with the Chicago Bulls.[13] He was waived by the Bulls on December 29, 2016, after appearing in three games.[14] During his time with Chicago, he had multiple assignments to the Windy City Bulls of the NBA Development League.[15]

On January 6, 2017, Hunter was acquired by the Long Island Nets of the NBA G-League.[16] Four days later, he made his debut for Long Island in a 120–112 loss to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, recording 22 points, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench.[17]

After failing to find a team to participate in training camp under the preseason, he would be assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League on October 24, 2017. Hunter made his debut with the team on November 4.

On January 14, 2018, Hunter signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets. On August 18, 2018, Hunter was waived by the Rockets.[18]

On September 7, 2018, Hunter signed with the Atlanta Hawks.[19] On October 13, 2018, Hunter was waived by the Hawks.[20] Hunter was added to the training camp roster of the Erie BayHawks.[21] In his BayHawks debut, Hunter scored a game-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting in a win over the Grand Rapids Drive.[22]

On January 10, 2019, Hunter signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics.[23]

On June 27, 2019, Hunter signed with Türk Telekom of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL).[24]

On February 7, 2020, Hunter signed with College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League (formerly D-League) and an affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA.[25] He missed a game against the Greensboro Swarm on February 28 with an illness.[26]

On July 21, 2020, Hunter signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish BSL.[27]

On July 23, 2021, Hunter signed with the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL for the 2021–22 season.[28] On January 15, 2022, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his left patellar tendon.[29] He was replaced on the roster.[30]

On September 29, 2023, Hunter signed with the Charlotte Hornets,[31] but was waived on October 21, prior to the start of the 2023–24 season.[32]