Hawks’ De’Andre Hunter ramping up activity in injury rehab

Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter finishes up a dunk over Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt.  (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com)

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

Credit: Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@

Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter finishes up a dunk over Minnesota Timberwolves forward Jarred Vanderbilt. (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com)

Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter, recovering from right knee surgery Feb. 8, has increased his rehabilitation activities to include unrestricted weight-room work.

The Hawks said Hunter will be checked out again March 19, and his status will be updated if appropriate then.

It was determined that Hunter would not need a second platelet-rich plasma injection, which Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk recently said would likely shorten Hunter’s recovery time by a week to 10 days. The original estimate of time Hunter would miss was 7-10 weeks.

Hunter was averaging 17.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists before he was injured and underwent a meniscus debridement. He was selected for the Rising Stars roster after showing remarkable growth in his second NBA season.

But the Rising Stars game, between the U.S. Team and the World Team, will not be played this year. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, All-Star events and games that usually take place over a long weekend have been compressed into one night, Sunday at State Farm Arena.