 Hester in 2024 | |
| Free agent | |
|---|---|
| Position | Power forward /center |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1990-05-22)May 22, 1990 (age 34) Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Listed height | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) |
| Listed weight | 198 lb (90 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Miami Norland (Miami, Florida) |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2012:undrafted |
| Playing career | 2012–present |
| Career history | |
| 2012–2013 | Turun NMKY |
| 2013–2014 | Atletico Nacional |
| 2014 | Real Club de Lima |
| 2014–2015 | CB Tarragona |
| 2015–2016 | Miami Midnites |
| 2016–2018 | Tindastóll |
| 2018–2019 | Starwings Basel |
| 2019–2020 | Bàsquet Girona |
| 2020 | Força Lleida |
| 2020 | Reales de La Vega |
| 2021 | Njarðvík |
| 2021–2022 | Terrafirma Dyip |
| 2023 | Zamboanga Valientes |
| 2023 | Magnolia Hotshots |
| 2023 | Nalaikh Bison |
| 2024 | Prawira Bandung |
| 2024 | Terrafirma Dyip |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Antonio Kurtis Hester (born May 22, 1990) is an American professionalbasketball player who last played for theTerrafirma Dyip of thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA). In 2014, he won thePeruvian championship with Real Club de Lima and in 2018, he won theIcelandic Basketball Cup withTindastóll. Listed at 198 cm, he primarily plays thepower forward andcenter positions.[1][2][3][4][5]
Hester was namedNAIA Third-Team All-American in 2012 after averaging 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds for theUniversity of Mobile.[6]
In 2012, Hester joinedTurun NMKY of the Finnish First Division.
In 2014, Hester played for Real Club of Lima in theLiga de Basket de Lima,[7] helping them win the Peruvian championship in July that year.[8]
He played forCB Tarragona during the2014–15 LEB Plata season, averaging 13.4 points and 7.6 rebounds.[9] In September 2014, he helped the club to victory in theLEB Catalan basketball league and was named the finals MVP.[10]
In August 2016, Hester signed withTindastóll of the IcelandicÚrvalsdeild karla.[11] A month later, Tindastóll released Hester to signMamadou Samb.[12] In November, Tindastóll brought Hester back as a part of a major roster overhaul where they fired head coach José Maria Costa and released Samb and Pape Seck.[13][14][3] For the season he averaged 23.5 points and 10.7 rebounds in 32.0 minutes per game.[15] Tindastóll finished third in the league but despite home court advantage, it lost toKeflavík in the first round of the playoffs.[16]
In June 2017, Hester re-signed with Tindastóll for the2017–2018 season.[17] In November 2017, Hester injured his ankle badly and was initially thought to have broken it.[18][19] Further tests revealed that the ankle was unbroken and that recovery time would be in weeks, not months.[20][21]
On January 13, 2018, Hester helped Tindastóll to its first major title when it won theIcelandic Basketball Cup.[22][23]
For the season, Hester averaged 20.6 points and 8.7 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game,[24] helping Tindastóll to a 16–6 record[25] and the third seed in the playoffs.[26]
In the playoffs, Tindastóll sweptGrindavík, 3–0, in the first round,[27] advancing to the semi-finals againstÍR. In the fifth game of the semi-finals on April 13, 2018, Hester injured his ankle. Despite the injury, Tindastóll prevailed in the game and advanced to the Úrvalsdeild finals.[28] Although hobbled, Hester played in the first game of the finals series against four-time defending champions ofKR. There he injured his other ankle after trying to block a shot fromBrynjar Þór Björnsson,[29] resulting in him missing game two of the series.[30] Without him, Tindastóll staged a spirited performance, blowing out KR on their own homecourt, 98–70, and tying the series at one game apiece.[31] After the season he was named theÚrvalsdeild Karla Foreign Player of the Year.[32]
In December 2018, Hester signed withStarwings Basel of theSwiss Basketball League.[33] In 14 games, he averaged 19.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per game.
Hester spent the2019–2020 season withBàsquet Girona inLEB Plata where he averaged 13.1 points and 8.3 rebounds in 25 games. On August 27, 2020, he signed withForça Lleida.[34]
In January 2021, Hester returned to Iceland and signed withNjarðvík.[35] For the season he averaged a team leading 18.4 points and league leading 12.0 rebounds per game. During the last game of the season, he had 30 points and 20 rebounds.[36] He helped Njarðvík win its last three games, where he averaged 23.7 points 13.3 rebounds, staving off relegation but missing out on the playoffs on a tie-breaker withTindastóll.[37]
In November 2021, Hester signed withTerrafirma Dyip of thePhilippine Basketball Association.[38]
In December 2022, he signed withZamboanga Valientes of theASEAN Basketball League.[39]
In February 2023, Hester signed with theMagnolia Hotshots of thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA) to replaceErik McCree as the team's import for the2023 PBA Governors' Cup.[40]
In August 2024, he returns to the Terrafirma Dyip of thePhilippine Basketball Association (PBA) to replace injuredBrandon Edwards as the team's import for the2024 PBA Governors' Cup.[41]