Panthers In Professional Basketball (NBA)
Two Georgia State Panther basketball players have played professionally in the NBA.
Lanard Copeland - Played at Georgia State from 1985-89. Undrafted, signed with the Philadelphia 76ers
and played with the Sixers during the 1989-90 season. Later spent three months with
the Los Angeles Clippers in 1991. Upon moving to Australia, Copeland played with the
Melbourne Tigers, Brisbane Bullets, and Adelaide 36ers in the NBL.
R.J. Hunter - Hunter played three seasons for Georgia State (2012-15) under his father and head coach,
Ron Hunter. Following his junior season, he declared for the 2015 NBA draft and was the
1st round, 28th overall pick by the Boston Celtics. He spent the entire 2015-16 season with
Boston and later played with the Chicago Bulls and Houston Rockets in and around stints
in the NBA G League and playing internationally.
Two other Panthers have been drafted by NBA teams but did not play in a regular season game.
George Pendleton - Drafted by the Indiana Pacers, 4th round, in 1977
Joe Brown - Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, 9th round, 1983
