Ex-NBA Lottery Pick Issues High Praise for Cade Cunningham

Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham landed high praise from a former Top 3 pick.

Dec 12, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) dribbles against the Boston Celtics during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham is gaining a lot of love heading into his fifth NBA season.

The Detroit Pistons guard emerged as one of the most notable guards in the league last season, as he entered the NBA All-Star picture for the first time.

Some want to see more out of Cunningham, specifically in the postseason, before they rank the young veteran in a top tier. SI’s Chris Mannix isn’t in that category. The NBA Insider recently revealed that he would rank Cunningham in the top 10 heading into the 2025-2026 NBA season.

The former NBA lottery pick, Evan Turner, saw the vision.

“I’m not against it,” said Turner, who has a lot of positive things to say about Cunningham.

“Last year, the Detroit Pistons were one of the few teams in history to triple their win total from the season before. I think how Cade handled himself in the playoffs, how he carries himself night in, night out, he’s 6’6”, he’s a big guard,” Turner explained. “There are very few people he goes up against where he’s rattled. You can see how much his team admires him. To get the Pistons back cracking like that? They didn’t make many, many moves. He’s kind of doing it solo-dolo.”

Chris Mannix on Cade Cunningham

“I think that Cade Cunningham is a top 10 guy right now. I've got Cade Cunningham in my top 10”

Via @SInow pic.twitter.com/LGp5XQyxOP

— Pistons Talk (@Pistons__Talk) October 13, 2025

That’s not to undersell the value of Detroit’s additions two offseasons ago. Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway, Malik Beasley, and eventually, Dennis Schroder, all played important roles in the Pistons’ impressive turnaround. As did the homegrown players, who showed improvements. However, Cunningham was the one to take an All-Star jump.

In 70 games, Cunningham produced averages of 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 9.1 assists. He shot 46 percent from the field and knocked down 35 percent of his threes. For the first time in his career, Cunningham earned an All-Star nod, as well as getting an All-NBA mention for the third team.

Dec 26, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) controls the ball against Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray (13) during the first quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images | Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

“I believe that him, Luka, and LeBron James are like the quickest over 150 points to so many stat lines. He’s playing at that level,” Turner finished. “I’m not against it. I’m into big guards. Cade Cunningham, when he’s matching up against your favorite point guard, he does put him on notice.”

Last year, Cunningham put a stamp on his status as an All-Star-caliber player in the NBA. With the Pistons making the playoffs for the first time in years as he emerged, it helped the star guard avoid the empty stats criticism, as it was clear that Cunningham’s play impacted winning in a major way.