Les Hunter and the No. 40: A Forgotten Piece of Brooklyn Nets Jersey History

The tapestry of the Brooklyn Nets is woven with threads of ABA flair, NBA ambition, and the legacies of hundreds of players. With 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players since the franchise’s 1967 inception as the New Jersey Americans, each number carries a story. Some, like the No. 5 worn by Jason Kidd or the No. 7 of Julius Erving, are etched in neon. Others reside in the quieter corners of team lore, waiting to be rediscovered. Today, we pull one such thread, focusing on the third of fourteen individuals to wear the No. 40 jersey: the journeyman forward, Les Hunter. His single season with the then-New York Nets was a brief, final act in a professional career that spanned continents and leagues, embodying the transient, hardscrabble reality of basketball in the late 1960s.

From Loyola Legend to Pro Journeyman

Long before his name was stitched onto a Nets jersey, Les Hunter was a college basketball pioneer. As a powerful, 6’7″ center for Loyola University Chicago, Hunter was instrumental in one of the sport’s most pivotal moments. In 1963, he and fellow starters, including three other Black players, made history. Their matchup against an all-white Duke team in the NCAA Tournament is widely credited as the first time a championship-level team started four Black players. Loyola didn’t just break barriers; they dominated, steamrolling to the national championship behind Hunter’s formidable inside presence. His professional pedigree was solid, selected 11th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 1964 NBA Draft.

Yet, Hunter’s pro journey would be one of constant movement, a hallmark of the era’s basketball landscape. He played for the Baltimore Bullets, but his career truly found its rhythm in the upstart American Basketball Association (ABA). This was the wild frontier of hoops, with its red, white, and blue ball and a fast-paced, high-flying style. Hunter suited up for the Minnesota Muskies and later the Miami Floridians, proving himself a reliable rebounder and defender. However, stability was elusive. In 1969, as the ABA shuffled its deck in a fight for survival and relevance, Hunter was part of a multi-player transaction that sent him north to the New York Nets.

The 1969-70 New York Nets: A Franchise in Flux

To understand Les Hunter’s place in Nets history, one must first view the landscape of the franchise he joined. The 1969-70 season was a period of profound transition. The team had just relocated from New Jersey to Long Island, becoming the New York Nets and playing in the intimate but outdated Island Garden. They were a franchise searching for an identity and, more urgently, a foothold in the competitive New York market.

The roster Hunter entered was a mix of seasoned ABA veterans and young talent. The team was led by the high-scoring guard Bill Melchionni, but it lacked the superstar draw that would arrive just a year later with the acquisition of a young Julius Erving. This was a gritty, blue-collar squad fighting for wins and attention. Into this environment stepped the 28-year-old Hunter, no longer the young prospect but a veteran brought in to provide toughness, rebounding, and a professional example. His role was specific: anchor the interior defense, clean the glass, and do the unglamorous work that often goes unnoticed.

Key aspects of that Nets season included:

• Team Record: The Nets finished a disappointing 39-45, missing the ABA playoffs in the Eastern Division.
• A Coaching Carousel: The team employed three different head coaches during the season—York Larese, Lou Carnesecca, and then Larese again—highlighting the instability Hunter walked into.
• The Pre-Doc Era: This season represents the final chapter before the Julius Erving era, a last gasp of the franchise’s early, struggling identity.

Les Hunter’s Legacy and the No. 40 Jersey’s Journey

Statistically, Les Hunter’s tenure with the Nets was modest. Appearing in 66 games, he averaged 5.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest in his final professional season. The numbers won’t leap off the page, but they tell the story of a role player fulfilling his duty. He was a reserve big man, spelling starters like Bill Paultz, providing minutes and muscle. His true value was in his experience and his physicality, assets for a team trying to establish itself.

Hunter’s single season in the No. 40 jersey represents a specific archetype in sports history: the veteran on his last stop. After his time with the Nets, he retired from professional basketball, leaving the game having spanned both the NBA and ABA. The No. 40 itself would go on a long journey after him. It would be worn by eleven more Nets players, including notable names like Otto Moore in the late 70s, shot-blocking center Ben Handlogten in the mid-2000s, and most recently, Henry Sims during the 2015-16 season. None have made the number iconic, leaving it as a testament to the squad players and temporary contributors who fill out rosters and contribute to the fabric of a franchise’s long history.

Expert Analysis: The Importance of Remembering Role Players

In the relentless drive to celebrate championships and superstars, the contributions of players like Les Hunter are often relegated to footnotes. But a franchise’s history is not built by stars alone. It is built by the collective effort of every individual who has worn the uniform. Hunter’s story—from college trailblazer to ABA journeyman to his final act on Long Island—is a microcosm of professional basketball in that era. It was a time of league rivalry, financial uncertainty, and shorter career spans.

For the Nets, honoring this history is crucial to understanding their identity. The Brooklyn Nets of today, with their global brand and superstar pursuits, are direct descendants of those nomadic Americans and Nets teams. The legacy they carry from the ABA includes not just the stylistic flair of Dr. J, but also the resilience and grind of players like Hunter. He wore the jersey in a time before dynastic aspirations, when the goal was simply to carve out a space to exist. In that regard, players like him are foundational, even if their statistics are not.

Conclusion: A Thread in the Larger Tapestry

The history of the Brooklyn Nets jersey No. 40 is not a chronicle of a retired number hanging from the rafters of Barclays Center. It is a record of service, of fourteen different careers intersecting with one franchise at different points in time. Les Hunter’s chapter is a short but meaningful one. He arrived as a seasoned pro, contributed during a season of transition, and then stepped away, leaving the number for the next man.

As the Nets continue to build their future in Brooklyn, these historical deep dives are essential. They root a modern, ever-changing franchise in a rich, human past. They remind us that before superteams and supermax contracts, there were players traveling between leagues, fighting for roster spots, and doing the dirty work for teams fighting for relevance. Les Hunter, the third man to wear Nets No. 40, was one of those players. His story, and the number he wore, are permanent, if quiet, stitches in the expansive and still-unfolding tapestry of Brooklyn Nets history.

Source: Based on news from Yahoo Sports.