Cade Cunningham Should STILL Be Rookie Of The Year...Even He Thinks So
The Pistons finished the season 29-53 and because of that, Cade Cunningham probably isn't going to win rookie of the year, even though he should.
Several rookies have been better than solid this year. Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner, Jalen Green and the favorite to win ROY, Evan Mobley, all look to have significant staying power in the league. Mobley and Barnes are on playoff teams, which for some reason seems to be carrying a lot of weight when it comes to which rookie has been the best this season.
Cunningham started slow after missing training camp, preseason and the first four games of the regular season while dealing with an ankle injury. Once he was on the floor, he didn't exactly light the world on fire, but he was solid despite the Pistons losing night in and night out. However, after the all-star break, and especially throughout the month of March, Cunningham was outstanding.
Over the course of the entire season, Cunningham averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game. Only 10 rookies in the history of the NBA had a rookie season like that and you may have heard of them. They are Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Grant Hill, LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Alvan Adam, Michael Jordan, Steve Francis and Tyreke Evans. Only Magic didn't win rookie of the year. Unfortunately, Cade is likely to join Magic in that group.
Cunningham is certainly aware of the award and the discussions surrounding it, but if you've paid any attention to the special rook this year, you know he won't let it bother him, which is another rare and special trait of his. At his end of the year presser, Cunningham spoke about the ROY battle and understands that it certainly won't make or break his career.
“I think I made a strong case for it," he said. "I had some big moments this year that show that I was the best rookie this year and there were other guys this year that had big moments as well. I made my case strong and every night I went out I competed and tried to be the best me.”
He also recently spoke about it in an interview with Andscape.
"I think I should be rookie of the year because of all the things I’ve been able to do for my team this year," he explained. "I feel like I helped my team in a lot of different ways that may not have always turned out to be wins."
Amen to that.
It's unfortunate that Cunningham and the Pistons couldn't crack the 30-win mark this year, but victories are coming and Cunningham is a major reason why. He's not going to win the award, but he probably should based on his production (Cunningham led all rookies in points per game) and responsibility (Cunningham was option No. 2 at worst and often the top option for Detroit). He also had eight games where he scored at least 25 points, grabbed at least five rebounds and dished out at least five assists. All other rookies had seven such games combined.
Cunningham isn't going to win rookie of the year, but it doesn't matter. Pistons fans already love him, he's going to be a superstar in the league and he's already attracting other big time players to Detroit. It's a bit of a shame that he's not going to win the award, but the rest of the class is really, really good. It's not that Barnes or Mobley aren't deserving, it just feels like Cade is more deserving.
