Getty Then-San Antonio Stars GM Ruth Riley speaks onstage at the Cartoon Network & NBA: Code Your Story Mini Camp in 2017.
The Miami Heat have yet to stop the presses with a Kevin Durant trade or a monster free agent signing, but team president Pat Riley and his brain are still making things happen. On Monday, the club announced a major addition to the front office.
Ruth Riley Hunter, who has been part of the Heat’s broadcast team for the last four years, has been named Miami’s senior director of team development. Per the press release, she will report directly to senior VP of basketball operations/GM Andy Elisburg in her new role.
The former WNBA star is no stranger to the executive scene. After wrapping up her playing career, Hunter served as GM of the San Antonio Stars for nearly two years. In doing so, she governed the team’s business/financial operations and managed team personnel, including players, coaches, scouts and basketball ops staff.
Hunter was also the first VP of the WNBA Player’s Association and, more recently, had supplemented her broadcast work for the Heat with additional duties under the umbrella of basketball analytics and player programs.
Heat Execs Sound Off on Hunter’s Hiring
As Riley sees it, the move to transition Hunter from the booth to a regular front office role should be recognized as “one of the most significant hires we’ve made in a long time.” Coming from someone with the Godfather’s track record, that’s an incredible endorsement of the 42-year-old.
“Ruth Hunter has been part of the Heat family since the early 2000s when she played with the Miami Sol,” Riley said. “We’re extremely happy to welcome her to basketball operations full-time and her new role in basketball development.”
Nothing has been announced regarding Hunter’s vacated spot on Miami’s gameday broadcast team. However, Ted Ballard — the VP and executive director of Heat broadcasting — made it clear that she would be difficult to replace.
“During the last four seasons, Ruth rapidly developed into an invaluable and respected member of the broadcast team,” Ballard said. “Her exceptional versatility, insightful perspective and unmatched dedication were exceeded only by the unquestioned quality of her character, which was on all levels inspiring.
“It remains a great honor and pleasure to call Ruth a colleague and friend, and we are thrilled that she will continue to be an impactful presence in this organization.”
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Hunter’s Playing Career At a Glance
Hunter began her pro hoops journey with the Sol as a fifth overall pick after a storybook collegiate run at Notre Dame. During her senior season in 2001, she led the Irish to a national championship, capturing Naismith POY, Final Four MOP and SI POY honors along the way.
After spending two years in South Beach, the 6-foot-5 center moved on to the Detroit Shock, with whom she won a pair of WNBA championships and secured her lone All-Star selection — and a Finals MVP trophy — over four seasons (2003-06). From there, she would spend five years in San Antonio (2007-11) before having cups of coffee with the Chicago Sky (2012) and the Atlanta Dream (2013) to close out her career.
In 387 WNBA games, she averaged 6.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per outing.
Hunter also spent time overseas with teams in Spain, Poland and Greece, in addition to winning a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics in Athens as part of the US women’s senior national team.
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