Lindsey Hunter is coming home — again. The former Detroit Pistons guard and two-time NBA champion has been named the new head coach of Michigan’s Sparta High School boys basketball program. It’s a full-circle moment for an HBCU legend, NBA veteran, and proud mentor returning to his NBA roots in the Great Lakes State. He will bring a legacy stretching from Jackson State to the Palace of Auburn Hills.
SWAC Roots
Hunter, a Mississippi native and HBCU star, made his name at Jackson State University. There, he torched Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponents. He began his collegiate career at Alcorn State, earning SWAC Freshman of the Year honors in 1989. Hunter transferred to Jackson State and never looked back. He averaged 26.7 points per game as a senior, earning SWAC Player of the Year in 1993. That same year, he led JSU to an NIT upset over UConn. Leading to him being selected 10th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the NBA Draft.
Detroit became his second home — and now it’s his coaching battleground.
Hunter spent 12 of his 17 NBA seasons with the Pistons, earning a reputation as one of the league’s toughest on-ball defenders. A gritty, tenacious guard, he helped anchor the Pistons’ defensive identity during their early-2000s championship run, earning his second ring in 2004 when Detroit stunned the star-studded Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. Ironically, Hunter also earned his first ring with the Lakers in 2002 — a rare feat of being a champion on both sides of that iconic rivalry.
But for all the bright lights of the NBA, Hunter has always had a heart for mentoring.
Natural Mentor
After playing, Hunter transitioned into coaching, including stints with the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, and Phoenix Suns. He served as interim head coach of the Suns during the 2012–13 season. In 2019, he returned to his HBCU roots, becoming head coach at Mississippi Valley State University (MVSU). He led MVSU for three seasons and helped rebuild the program’s foundation with the same toughness he brought as a player.
Now, he’s bringing that HBCU pedigree and NBA grind to the high school hardwood in Sparta, Michigan—a town just outside Grand Rapids.
His connection to Michigan runs deep. His son, Lindsey Hunter IV, was a standout guard at Southfield Christian School near Detroit. The younger Hunter won three state championships before college. And even more recently, Hunter helped launch a youth basketball initiative through his foundation after meeting Griffin Gullekson, a Sparta student battling cancer. Moved by the teen’s resilience, Hunter helped create a program through the Lindsey Hunter Foundation that supports young athletes facing illness or adversity.
For Sparta High School, bringing in Hunter isn’t just a flashy hire — it’s a cultural moment. Here’s a coach who’s played with Hall of Famers, coached at every level, and dominated the HBCU landscape. He’s bringing all of that to a small-town team with big dreams.
The Pistons faithful know Lindsey Hunter as the dogged defender who never backed down. The HBCU community knows him as one of their greatest guards and a proud standard-bearer of SWAC excellence. A new generation of Michigan ballers will now know him as Coach Hunter.