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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player for the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Virginia Cavaliers The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic Coast C ...

and was named the

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is a college basketball award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top men's defensive player in NCAA Division I competition. It has been given since 1987 a ...

for 2019. Hunter was selected in the

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

with the 4th overall pick by the

Los Angeles Lakers The Los Angeles Lakers are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Lakers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, but was then traded to the

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

before being traded again to 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

on draft night.

High school career

Hunter grew up in Lawncrest, Philadelphia and attended Friends' Central School in

Wynnewood, Pennsylvania Wynnewood is a suburban Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community, located west of Philadelphia, straddling Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, Lower Merion Township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Haverford Township, D ...

. 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, choosing UVA over other offers from

NC State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

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 most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

, 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. 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 The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

. 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

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

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2019–2025)

On June 20, 2019, Hunter was drafted by the

with the fourth overall pick in the

, then traded to the

in the

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...

trade, and then again to the

along with Solomon Hill 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 Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

and finishing with 14 points and two rebounds. Hunter began the 2020–21 season in the starting lineup for the Hawks. On January 24, 2021, Hunter recorded a then career high of 33 points against the Milwaukee Bucks. On February 7, 2021, the Hawks announced that Hunter would undergo arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and would be out for an extended period of time. 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. On June 9, 2021, the Hawks announced that Hunter would undergo surgery to repair a torn right meniscus and would be out for the rest of the season. On April 26, 2022, Hunter scored a 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 Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

, 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. On January 13, 2023, Hunter scored 26 points on a career-high six three-pointers made in a 113–111 win over the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

. On January 27, 2025, Hunter scored a career-high 35 points in a 100–92 loss to the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

Cleveland Cavaliers (2025–present)

On February 6, 2025, Hunter was traded to the

in exchange for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, three second round picks, and two pick swaps.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

, - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 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 , , 15.0 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 53 , , 52 , , 29.8 , , .442 , , .379 , , .765 , , 3.3 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .4 , , 13.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 67 , , 67 , , 31.7 , , .461 , , .350 , , .826 , , 4.2 , , 1.4 , , .5 , , .3 , , 15.4 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 57 , , 37 , , 29.5 , , .459 , , .385 , , .847 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , 15.6 , - , style="text-align:left;" rowspan=2, , style="text-align:left;",

, 37 , , 4 , , 28.7 , , .461 , , .393 , , .858 , , 3.9 , , 1.5 , , .8 , , .1 , , 19.0 , - , style="text-align:left;",

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, 27 , , 5 , , 25.0 , , .485 , , .426 , , .821 , , 4.2 , , 1.3 , , .7 , , .3 , , 14.3 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 327 , , 246 , , 30.0 , , .452 , , .373 , , .819 , , 4.1 , , 1.5 , , .7 , , .3 , , 14.8

Playoffs

, - , style="text-align:left;",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, style="text-align:left;",

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

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 5 , , 5 , , 34.9 , , .557 , , .462 , , .800 , , 3.8 , , .6 , , .8 , , .2 , , 21.2 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 6 , , 6 , , 37.4 , , .459 , , .368 , , .800 , , 5.7 , , 1.2 , , .7 , , .3 , , 16.7 , - , style="text-align:left;",

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

, style="text-align:left;",

, 8 , , 0 , , 23.1 , , .429 , , .462 , , .846 , , 3.6 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , .1 , , 11.0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 24 , , 16 , , 30.6 , , .468 , , .415 , , .806 , , 4.3 , , .9 , , .5 , , .3 , , 14.5

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 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 Small forwards Virginia Cavaliers men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen

High school career

College career

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (2019–2025)

Cleveland Cavaliers (2025–present)

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

Playoffs

College

See also

References

External links