After being selected by Boston with the 28th overall pick in 2015 out of Georgia State, R.J. Hunter played for 37 games during two separate stints with the Celtics. He had been vying for an NBA comeback for the previous four years.
The now-29-year-old was sent back to free agency after that voyage came so close to reaching the finish line but eventually fell short.
Hunter signed a contract with the Charlotte Hornets in August, giving him his first chance to play in an NBA game
Hunter didn’t make the cut, though, as Charlotte started finalizing its roster after preseason auditions and the Hornets were only a few days away from Opening Night. According to a press release from the organization, the team waived him on Saturday, which put him back where he started.
The once-prominent sniper for his collegiate club, Hunter’s preseason opportunities were limited as he averaged just one goal and 1.7 rebounds over the course of three games. Charlotte played Hunter for the third-fewest minutes per game, at only 6.3.
For the Hornets to grant Hunter a position on the roster to showcase his skills in Charlotte when the 2023–24 season starts, that most definitely wasn’t even close to being enough.
According to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe, Hunter remarked before being released by Charlotte, “I’ve been all around, a bunch of different places, so I was just forced to appreciate every single day that you’ve got because it’s a blessing and you kind of go through it like it’s not.” “It’s been really difficult. In search of myself after two years away from the league. I was shocked, and I had to decide whether or not I wanted to keep playing this game.
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