One of the biggest surprises in the NBA is the significant leap forward the Detroit Pistons have made this season. Former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff has done a wonderful job at shifting the culture within the team, putting his players in the best positions to exceed and excel , and leading them to what is, at this point in the season, the sixth seed. If the playoffs started today, the Pistons would be in for the first time since the 2018-19 season. So, while we watch Detroit on the rise in the East, we can’t forget about the one who leads them. Cade Cunningham , whom the Pistons drafted in 2021, is a star rising in his own right.
Pistons Star Giving Teammate Luka Dončić Vibes
Is Detroit Pistons’s Cade Cunningham A Luka Dončić-Esque Star In the Making?
Having just participated in his first-ever NBA All-Star game , Cunningham’s selection was the first of many more to come. His career started with a sputter, dealing with a significant injury that kept him out of almost the entire 2022-23 campaign, his second year in the league. Since then, Cunningham has kept rising and rising, but his team, the Pistons, kept faltering and faltering. Detroit failed to reach the 20-win mark in consecutive seasons (2023, 2024), and former head coach Monty Williams lasted only one season last year. Cunningham was building to become a superstar, and everyone saw it. However, the moribund franchise that was the Pistons overshadowed his emergence.
There is no moribund franchise in Detroit any longer, and Cunningham’s light is shining brighter than ever. He’s having a career year in all major statistical categories: points (26.7), rebounds (6.2, mirroring his average in 12 games played in his injury season), assists (9.5), and minutes (35). He’s also shooting career highs from the field and three-point line—46.1% and 36.3%. Cunningham’s season is even causing his colleagues in the league to take notice, even going so far as to compare him to Luka Dončić . While it might seem like an odd comparison at first, put aside the body types, size, and scoring styles. Instead, focus on his on-court movement and presence with the ball.
Dennis Schröder Draws Similarities
If you ask Dennis Schröder , Cunningham’s teammate, the 23-year-old draws some similarities to Dončić. Schröder is not the only player who speaks of Cunningham in this light. Earlier in the year, Draymond Green highlighted Cunningham’s abilities and likened them to Dončić’s. Schröder’s comparison takes some from Green’s in terms of movement .
“He reminds me of Luka Dončić a lot.” Schröder said, “I followed his [Cunningham] game very closely because I like to watch basketball games. It’s really impressive how he just picks the defense apart. He’s really unselfish and wants to make the right play every single time. It’s impressive to see.”
In January, Green mentioned Cunningham’s movement with the ball, his ability to take it slow without being forced to speed up, and dictate where he wants to go (Twitter link ). It’s that final element Green mentions that perfectly describes Dončić. He can lull a defender to sleep with his lack of speed but then, in an instant, change everything in a second with a quick move. Cunningham is seemingly showing these same traits, and he has the Pistons on the rise while his stock as a future superstar continues to gain speed.
Asked Draymond Green his opinion on Cade Cunningham and he gave an insightful answer.
Green spoke on what makes Cunningham special, why he thinks he should be an All-Star and the next step for him. Here’s the full two minutes: pic.twitter.com/6WfemMIL2d
— Hunter Patterson (@HuntPatterson_) January 10, 2025
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