NBA Scout Praises Detroit Pistons Star Cade Cunningham

In the midst of the Detroit Pistons' historic turnaround last season, Cade Cunningham cemented himself as one of the NBA's top young talents. As he prepares to build off his breakout campaign, some league personnel think the best is still to come.

When the Pistons drafted Cunningham first overall, they envisioned him being the iconic franchise's next star and leader for the future. In his fourth season, he proved that he is capable of taking up that mantle.

Not only did Cunningham put up his best numbers in the NBA, but his improvements had a direct impact on winning. His strong all-around play was a major catalyst in the Pistons quickly climbing the standings, and ended their postseason drought after six years.

Cunningham earned All-NBA honors at the age of 23 after finishing the regular season with averages of 26.1 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 9.1 APG.

Pistons Cade Cunningha — Apr 24, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during player introductions before the game against the New York Knicks uring game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Earlier this week, ESPN slowly rolled out its updated ranking of the top 100 players in the NBA. As expected, the Pistons star made a massive leap. He landed at No. 67 last time around, but now finds himself at No. 10.

Following the release of the full list, insider Tim Bontemps spoke with people around the league about how the rankings unfolded. When asked for a player who could make the jump into the top 10 in 2026, one scout praised Cunningham for the player he's grown into.

"He's got size, playmaking, shooting, he can guard," one East executive said. "He checks a lot of boxes."

A lot can change in a year... pic.twitter.com/1vcXp6yMsZ
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) September 25, 2025

Seeing that he is still years away from his prime, Cunningham is a good candidate to keep climbing up player rankings. As a jumbo-sized point guard who impacts multiple facets of the game, he has all the makings of a superstar talent in the modern NBA.

As it pertains to Cunningham's development, one key factor is the players around him. Given that a good portion of his impact stems from his playmaking, he needs reliable options around him. This means that players like Jaden Ivey, Ausar Thompson, and Jalen Duren also have to keep trending in the right direction when it comes to their growth.

If the Pistons' core can keep making strides together, Cunningham should have an iron-clad case to be a top-ten player come this time next year.

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