Hawks' De'Andre Hunter to Undergo Surgery on Knee Injury, Miss Rest of NBA Playoffs

After De'Andre Hunter sat out the first two games of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Atlanta Hawks forward's season has ended because of a knee injury. 

The Hawks announced Wednesday that Hunter will undergo surgery to repair a meniscus injury that will keep him out for the remainder of the postseason. 

Hunter missed most of the 2020-21 campaign because of a knee issue, but there was some hope recently that he turned a corner in his recovery. 

The second-year power forward appeared in three of Atlanta's final four regular-season games, including starting and playing 24 minutes against the Houston Rockets on May 16. 

Hawks interim head coach Nate McMillan deployed Hunter for all five games in the first round against the New York Knicks. The 23-year-old averaged 30.3 minutes per game in that series. 

General manager Travis Schlenk told reporters before Tuesday's Game 2 against the Philadelphia 76ers that Hunter had some swelling in his knee prior to the final contest vs. the Knicks and they wanted to "be cautious with him."

Solomon Hill will likely remain in the starting lineup against Philadelphia with Hunter out. 

Hunter averaged 15.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 23 appearances during the regular season. The series, tied 1-1, will resume Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET with Game 3 in Philadelphia.