Cade Cunningham Card Comeback Continues
Cade Cunningham's breakthrough season has helped the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs for the first time since 2019. The Pistons, who's incredible turnaround from 14 wins just a season ago, to 44 this year, is one of the feel-good stories of the NBA this season. But, Cunningham's leap year is what made the Pistons go round. 26.1 PPG, 9.1 APG were both career highs, and the 23-year old also chipped in with over six boards a game. He set career highs in field-goal percentage and three-point percentage.
More than that, Cade went from an obvious talent with serious flashes of potential, to carrying himself - and playing like - a superstar. For a young talent who has been difficult for collectors to get a beat on, the Cunningham many expected seems to have shown up. He's likely to be named on an All-NBA team shortly. Now, he's ready for a star turn in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks? If he can lead the Pistons to an upset series win, could the steadily improving Cunningham card market itself make a leap?
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DETROIT'S MOTORCADE 🏎️
— NBA (@NBA) April 17, 2025
Cade Cunningham capped off his 2024-25 campaign with career-best numbers in scoring and playmaking, continuing to take his game to another level every year! pic.twitter.com/VUs3R7mKaE
With sky-high expectations as a top overall pick, Cunningham card sales included some huge ones in the early going. But, it wasn't smooth sailing from there. A contender for Most Improved Player, Cunnigham's first three years in the league were tough, and his card market has reflected that. He endured a pretty harsh learning curve on some very bad basketball teams. The Pistons knew they had to focus on his development, but high usage at an incredibly young age (he attempted 16.1 and 18.7 field goals a game) contributed to poor efficiency.
To give a sense of just how bad Detroit has been coming into this season, the team had won a total of 54 games in the three seasons since drafting the former Oklahoma State star. They tied the record for longest losing streak in league history at 28 just last year. Cunningham also dealt with injury, playing only 12 games in 2022-23. From the end of his rookie season until the beginning of this year, Cunningham's Rate of Growth, Per Card Ladder, was -92.95%.
But, this season, it looks as though Cade Cunningham Cards are also showing up, and something of a turnaround has begun. Over the course of the season, Cunningham's Rate of Growth was an encouraging 97.64%.
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Putting the Pistons back in the spotlight is no small feat. The franchise has a storied history, a defined character of grit and competitiveness. Lifting Detroit back to relevance could also play a role in Cunningham's place in The Hobby.
It is very easy to forget how young Cade Cunningham still is. Only 23, he was given the keys to a franchise before he had developed his game. Fans and collectors sometimes expect the world from a phenom, and expect to see steady improvement and glimpses of greatness instantly. But, it is hard to be the best scorer and playmaker on your team as young as Cunningham was, and his development wasn't a straight line. But now, it seems that his potential to be a franchise player is being realized.
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One of the reasons Cunningham cards saw a steep dropoff was precisely the expectations he arrived into the league with. Some of his early top-end card sales were massive. His 2021/22 Panini National Treasures Logoman Rookie Patch Auto 1/1 sold for $204,000 in November of 2022. His 2021/22 Panini Prizm Black Prizm 1/1 sold for $167,566 in October 2022. It sold two days before this season for only $70,686. At writing, Card Ladder lists its CL Value of the card at over $143,000.
In April his Silver Prizm PSA 9 has a Rate of Growth of over 24%. The PSA 10, over 10%. 4 sales of the PSA 10 have averaged $541.28.
The most recent high-end sale of a Cunningham offers an illustration of his bounceback year on the floor and in The Hobby. His 2021 Panini National Treasures Rookie Patch Auto /99 sold at auction for $34,200 on March 21. The card sold for $18, 300 in December 2023, and $17,080 as recently as March 2.
While a series win would be an upset, Cunningham and the Pistons can cause the Knicks some problems. They've won three straight against New York. Cunningham's upcoming playoff debut gives him a huge stage on which to shine.
Facing one of the league's flagship franchises in the Knicks, playing in Madison Square Garden, the basketball world will be watching. The last two times that Cunningham graced the Garden? A 29-point, 10-rebound, 15-assist triple double, and a 36-point outburst, that included 11 fourth-quarter points, leading Detroit to victories in both games. He may just be ready for the big stage.
Michael Terry is a writer based in Brooklyn. He specializes in sports, culture, and collecting. His work has appeared at Topps RIPPED, ESPN, Grantland, Vice Sports, and more.