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Cade Cunningham Makes Statement on 2025 NBA All-Star Running

What does Cade Cunningham think about his current running in the 2025 NBA All-Star voting?
Justin Grasso|
Feb 26, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) argues with referee James Williams (60) between the third and fourth quarters against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Feb 26, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) argues with referee James Williams (60) between the third and fourth quarters against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

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Detroit Pistons

Will the Detroit Pistons get their first All-Star participant since Blake Griffin in 2025? Cade Cunningham’s campaign was strong heading into Saturday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The young veteran’s performance on Saturday was just another statement game, proving he certainly deserves to be in the running so far.

“It feels great, man,” Cunningham told reporters after Saturday’s win.

“It feels great to be winning games. It feels great to be contributing to wins. That’s the main thing. All the things that come with it—it means a lot to me—it means a lot to my family. It’s something that I’ve been dreaming for a long time. I’ve always felt like I belong in those conversations, so to have that recognition means a ton to me. Winning games is the most important thing. I think if I continue to find ways to help my team win, everything I want will come.”

Cunningham has played at a high level when healthy over the last couple of seasons, but the Pistons’ struggles were difficult to overlook. Last year, Cunningham posted averages of 23 points, eight assists, and four rebounds while knocking down five threes per game on 5.4 attempts per outing.

As a team, the Pistons achieved of record of 14-68. Cunningham wasn’t the issue, but he certainly wasn’t winning enough games to put him in the running for the All-Star conversation.

The 2024-2025 season has been a different story. Through Cunningham’s first 30 games, he is producing 24 points per game while knocking down 37 percent of his threes on 6.5 attempts per game. He’s racking up a higher assists rate than ever, producing nearly ten per game. On the glass, Cunningham has been good for a career-high seven rebounds per game.

Detroit hasn’t been in playoff territory this year, but they remained on the Play-In radar through 35 games. At 17-18, the Pistons were ninth in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Indiana Pacers by half a game heading into Monday's action against the Portland Trail Blazers.

With some help from the record, Cunningham ranked in the top ten in Eastern Conference backcourt voting for the 2025 NBA All-Star game. With over 247,000 votes, Cunningham is sixth, behind Trae Young, Jalen Brunson, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and LaMelo Ball.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia

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