“This is our union and we have taken it back,” National Basketball Players Association president Derek Fisher said.

Fisher said it was a day of change for the union, one that had seemed inevitable since a review of the union last month was critical of Hunter’s leadership and urged players to consider whether they wanted to keep him.

They didn’t.

“We want to make it clear that we are here to serve only the best interests of the players,” Fisher said. “No threats, no lies, no distractions will stop us from serving our memberships.”

In brief remarks, Fisher said a new executive committee was elected, and he will remain as president. The Spurs’ Matt Bonner is vice president, Miami’s James Jones is secretary-treasurer and the Nets’ Jerry Stackhouse is first vice president. The Clippers’ Chris Paul and Willie Green, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Denver’s Andre Iguodala, and the Hornets’ Roger Mason, Jr. are vice presidents.

Hunter said he had “yet to receive any notification” of his firing.

“If accurate, it is indicative of the extremely troubling process followed by the NBPA during the past few weeks,” he said in a statement. “During the days and weeks ahead, my legal team and I will begin carefully reviewing the actions taken and statements made against me in the meeting room in my absence. I look forward to gathering the evidence showing how certain individuals made sure the outcome was preordained.”

Hunter had led the union since 1996, guiding the players through three collective bargaining agreements and helping bring their average salaries to more than $5 million, highest in team sports. But Fisher pushed for the review after a falling out between the two leaders, and though it found Hunter wasn’t guilty of any criminal activity involving union funds, it cited him for a number of conflicts of interests and poor choices that led the players to remove him.

Commissioner David Stern was aware of the union’s actions but had little comment.

“We await notification from the union as to who we should be dealing with because it has been a principle of faith with us that we will deal with whomever the union tells us to deal with,” Stern said.

Released in January, the review conducted by the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP criticized Hunter for hiring family members and friends. It said he knew his 2010 contract extension wasn’t properly ratified by union rules, and raised questions about everything from travel expenses to the amount he spent on gifts.

Players acted quickly, putting Hunter on a leave of absence Feb. 1. He hoped to be invited to Saturday’s annual meeting, which included about 35 players, superstar LeBron James among them.

Hunter’s family did, and that was another central issue of the report. He had since fired his daughter and daughter-in-law, and cut ties with a financial institution that employed his son. He also instituted an anti-nepotism policy at the NBPA.

Fisher, Paul, Bonner, Mason and Jones were holdovers from the previous executive committee. Stackhouse, who along with James was vocal during the meeting, joins Iguodala, Curry and Green among the newcomers.

Fisher and Hunter clashed during the 2011 lockout, and their fractured relationship divided the union. Hunter originally persuaded the executive committee to vote to request Fisher’s resignation last year. Fisher did not resign and instead pushed for the outside review, which lasted more than eight months and cost the union more than $4 million.

The law firm reviewed NBPA documents and emails, and interviewed more than three dozen witnesses. It found that Hunter spent more than $100,000 on gifts for executive committee members — including a watch worth more than $20,000 for Fisher before their falling out — and accepted a payout of $1.3 million for unused vacation time when records made it unclear how his time off was kept.

Fisher remains president even though he isn’t on an NBA roster, having asked the Dallas Mavericks for his release after a brief stint earlier this season. He gave no update on what would happen to the executive director position. Union attorney Ron Klempner was appointed to the position on an interim basis when Hunter was placed on leave.

“The current interim regime in control of the NBPA has set a terrible precedent for the union,” Hunter said. “It violates every tenet of fairness upon which the union was founded. Now that this has occurred, I will continue to examine all of my options, including whether the fairness that was absent from the NBPA process might be available in a different forum.

“In addition, given the legitimate legal and governance questions surrounding the eligibility of the members who voted and the adherence, or lack thereof, to the constitution and bylaws, I do not consider today’s vote the end, only a different beginning.”

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Longtime union lawyer Ron Klempner was appointed acting executive director of the union until every member of the union “can have a vote in the matter,” the NBPA said.

Hunter was notified of the decision Friday morning, sources said. In a memo circulated Friday to players, union president Derek Fisher said: “This organization has been disrupted and we will no longer tolerate it. Immediate action was necessary and taken to protect you.”

The NBPA also announced that it has formed an interim executive committee and advisory committee “to move the organization forward” in the wake of a damaging report by the independent firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP hired to look into the union’s business practices under Hunter’s leadership. The interim executive committee will consist of the five active members of the most recent executive board, according to union bylaws.

The report last month found no evidence of illegal use of union funds, but revealed that Hunter withheld knowledge that his contract was never properly approved, used poor judgment with his hiring practices and spent improperly on travel and gifts.

The NBPA also will hire outside lawyers to assist it leading into a pivotal set of meetings scheduled for All-Star Weekend in Houston later this month and will consider moving meetings to a different date on the calendar to “ensure that all players will have the best chance to attend without conflict.”

Hunter has headed the union since 1996. The review was sought in part by Fisher, who clashed with Hunter during and after the NBA lockout that lasted from July-November 2011.

Agents were angry with Hunter’s strategies, though he has remained popular and respected by many players.

Because Hunter’s $3 million per year contract, signed in 2010 and to run through either 2015 or 2017, was never properly approved, the report found that players were under no obligation to keep him.

According to the report, Hunter was aware by at least November 2011 that the executive committee and player representatives had not approved the deal according to union bylaws.

“Regarding my contract — my third in a long tenure of the organization — it was ratified by the NBPA executive committee and signed by president Derek Fisher,” Hunter said last month. “I believe the contract and extensions are valid. I am pleased to discuss with the player representative board any concerns about my contract.”

In a statement released Friday, Fisher said that because of the ongoing investigations being conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor and U.S. attorney’s office, the players wanted the executive committee to take steps to protect them.

“Unfortunately, it appears that union management has lost sight of the NBPA’s only task, to serve the best interests of their membership. This is the reason I called for a review almost a year ago,” Fisher said. “The findings of that review confirm this unfortunate truth and we must now move forward as players. Immediate change is necessary and I, along with the committee members, are committed to driving the process as difficult as it may be.”

The report cited areas where Hunter should have known better, particularly when it came to hiring family members.

The union either employed or worked with many people who had ties to Hunter, who hired his daughter and nephew, permitted a daughter-in-law to remain on staff, and spent more than $80,000 of union funds to evaluate an investment in a banking firm that employed his son.

“No matter the explanation, when viewed collectively, his choices created the appearance that he operated the union in part for the benefit of his family and friends,” the report said.

“The appearance of favoritism has damaged the union. Mr. Hunter’s pattern of involving friends and family in union business contributed to a deep rift among the NBPA staff.”

Hunter fired his daughter and daughter-in-law less than two weeks after the report came out.

The report also found that Hunter also spent more than $100,000 of union funds to purchase gifts for executive committee members, including a $22,000 watch for Fisher in June 2010, and that he made “questionable choices” when charging travel expenses to the NBPA.

The investigation began in April 2012 and included reviews of documents, financial records and NBPA emails, along with interviews of more than three dozen witnesses. It questioned a payment he received for unused vacation time and the way he filed travel expenses, but couldn’t prove they were illegal.

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