Hunter attended Jackson State University where he became arguably the school's highest profile athlete since the days of Walter Payton and Jackie Slater.

The Detroit Pistons selected Hunter with the 10th pick in the 1993 NBA Draft. Hunter has spent most of his professional career playing with the Pistons organization. he also played for the Milwaukee Bucks, Los Angeles Lakers (member of the 2001-2002 Lakers' NBA Championship team) and the Toronto Raptors. He was a member of the Detroit Pistons 2003-2004 NBA Championship team.

Hunter signed a one-year nonguaranteed contract with the Chicago Bulls on November 13, 2008. On July 13, 2009, Hunter re-signed with the Bulls for the veteran minimum of $1.3 million. At age 39, Hunter was the oldest player active during the 2009–2010 NBA season—until the Bulls waived him on March 3, 2010. Two days later, the Bulls hired him as a player development assistant. In January of 2013, he was named interim coach of the Phoenix Suns.