Former Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic forward Brandon Hunter has died this week at the age of 42.
Ohio University men’s basketball head coach Jeff Boals shared the tragic news on Tuesday about Hunter’s passing. No cause of death was mentioned.
Hunter played his college ball at Ohio from 1999-2003. He was a three-time All-MAC First Teamer there and led the NCAA in rebounding during his senior season in 2002-03 (pulling down 12.6 boards per game). Hunter then went on to be selected by the Celtics in the second round of the 2003 NBA Draft (No. 56 overall). He played one season for the Celtics and one season for the Magic before going on to a nearly decade-long pro career overseas.
TMZ Sports adds that Hunter, who averaged 3.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game during his NBA career, had gotten into coaching, real estate, and sports management after retiring as a player. His death comes just two months before he was set to turn 43 years old.
READ MORE BELOW
10 best draft picks in Rockets franchise history, ranked
The Houston Rockets are one of the more historic franchises in all of the NBA. They rank tenth all-time in winning percentage in the NBA with a 51.5% mark. Only the San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, Seattle Supersonics, Oklahoma City Thunder, Portland Trail Blazers, Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, and Philadelphia 76ers have higher winning percentages. But, a lot of these teams have been in the NBA for a more brief period of time than the Rockets. The Rockets have played 4,524 games. Among the teams that have played at least that many games, the list of teams with a greater winning percentage than the Houston Rockets organization falls to just four: the Celtics, Lakers, Sonics/Thunder, and Sixers.
There’s a good reason why that percentage is so high. The Rockets have had a lot of great players come through their organization. Some have come via trade like James Harden, Tracy McGrady, and Clyde Drexler. Others like Dwight Howard signed as a free agent. But the Rockets have also drafted very well and have landed plenty of star power through the draft. It’s what made this list of the ten best Houston Rockets draft picks difficult to put together, but also very compelling. It’s time to get to it!
