The Detroit Pistons had quite a turnaround year during their 2024-25 season and even made the playoffs. Coming off a season where they only won 14 games during their 2023-24 run, having the team go to the playoffs was a major deal for Detroit.
One of the brightest stars, of course, on the Detroit Pistons’ roster is Cade Cunningham. The point guard was drafted to the Pistons during the 2021 draft as the first overall pick, and he hasn’t disappointed. Now, with head coach J.B. Bickerstaff and Cunningham working well together, this franchise could go further than ever imagined. Talk about a comebacks story.
Heading into the 2025-26 season, Bickerstaff and company are prepping for what they hope is a run that’s historic in all the best ways. The good news is that Cunningham is considered one of the best guards in the NBA. Just how good is Cunningham? A new tally explains that and what makes him so special.
Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham is No. 4
Ranking NBA guards is no easy goal, but Frank Urbina has done it. In a feature published on August 4 for Hoops Hype, Urbina ranks all of the guards in the NBA and names the best.
Getty Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons drives to the basket against Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks.
“The point guard position is one of the most loaded in the NBA today, featuring various MVP vote-getters, as well as the outright MVP winner for 2024-25, who fared quite well in this exercise,” he notes in the feature.
He has Cunningham at No. 4, only behind Luka Doncic of the Los Angeles Lakers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Jalen Brunson of the New York Knicks.
Cunningham’s salary for the 2025-26 season is $46,394,100, making him 16th overall, so he’s being paid for his work.
“Cunningham just enjoyed easily the best season of his career, leading Detroit to a 44-38 regular season and to within two games of the second round of the playoffs, no small accomplishment considering how abysmal the team was just a few years ago,” Urbina notes in the piece.
He adds, “If Cunningham is able to make a similarly sized leap in 2025-26 as he has over the past couple of seasons, he could be a 30-point, 10-assist per game player next campaign, a scary proposition for Detroit’s foes over the coming years.”
What Makes Cade Cunningham So Good
So, what makes Cunningham such a great player? It’s all in the numbers. As Urbina explains, he’s “one of just two players to put up a 26/6/9 last season along with Jokic” and “already an All-NBA-level performer.”
“And with the leap we expect him to make in ’26, he could be a first-time 1st Team All-NBAer when it’s all said and done,” Urbina adds. “That’s the type of talent Cunningham has, thanks to his tough shot-making from all three levels, his ability to finish around the basket, his off-the-dribble pull-up shooting and his somehow underrated playmaking.”
It’s super exciting for those who follow the Detroit Pistons to see the team have one of the best guards in the league and someone who experts believe will only get better next season. The new season can’t come soon enough for the Motor City.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Pistons’ Cade Cunningham Gets Huge Boost as Season Nears appeared first on Heavy Sports.