The Detroit Pistons have risen from the ashes this season.
Cade Cunningham has been a huge reason for that.
The fourth-year guard has flashed his star potential throughout his career, but has taken his game to another level this season. No longer is Cade flashing that potential, he’s realizing it and has blossomed into the star that Detroit desperately needed.
And now he’ll be recognized with his first NBA All-Star nod.
Cunningham was chosen by the NBA’s coaches as a reserve on the Eastern Conference team, marking the first appearance by a Pistons player in the All-Star Game since 2018-19 when Blake Griffin made it in his last stand.
Ironically, that was the last time the Pistons made the playoffs, too.
Cade is also the first Detroit guard to make the cut since 2008-09 when Allen Iverson was voted a starter. We don’t dive into that because, again, ironically, what season was the beginning of the dark ages for Detroit Basketball.
Maybe Cade’s time is the start of the new age?
Cunningham is averaging career-highs across the board with 25 points, 9.3 assists and 6.4 rebounds per game. Inefficiency, a struggle earlier in his career, has become a non-issue as Cade is shooting a career-best 45% from the field and 36% from three while averaging 1.7 stocks (steals + blocks) per game.
There’s so many areas you can point to where Cade has leveled up this season. He’s got a masterful control of the game and finally has the right kinds of teammates surrounding him to be at his best. Spacing has been his friend, and the chemistry he’s built with the core young guys — as well as the newcomers — is apparent on a nightly basis.
This is what you hope for when you take a guy No. 1 overall. Pistons fans have sat in front of their TV summer after summer, watching the team (somehow) continue its losing ways in the NBA draft lottery.
Landing Cunningham in 2021 was the move. It was the draft where there was a DUDE at the top. Imagine being lucky enough to get the top pick this past summer instead of 2021? I don’t even want to think about it.
Cade missed his entire sophomore season with a shin issue after an encouraging rookie year. While many pundits applauded his draft mates as being better players, Cunningham’s steady rise is finally coming to fruition now.
I can’t really think of another superstar who has had to wade through the muck to get to the point where Cade is now. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder had as similarly miserable start to their tenure, and look where they are now.
SGA’s the MVP frontrunner and the Thunder are amongst favorites to win it all.
Cade and the Pistons have a long way to go on both of those fronts, but this is a sign of progress in a season of progress.
Detroit’s rebuild stagnated before Cade and, seemingly, during Cade’s time here. Now it feels like the Pistons have their budding superstar and he’s surrounded by the infrastructure needed to not waste this moment.
So, hey, let’s be excited. This is a big moment, because, frankly, a team like the Pistons doesn’t get this spotlight very often. It’s a big step in Cade’s trek toward being among the league’s elite, and it’s another step in the Pistons rise to relevance.
Next up, prominence.
Congrats and see ya in San Fran, Cade.