Making Cade Cunningham’s Pre-Season Case For MVP

Cade Cunningham was a finalist for MVP just a season ago. Here is why he might repeat those MVP efforts this season.

Mar 17, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) looks on during first half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Detroit Pistons former number 1 overall pick, Cade Cunningham, had a tremendous season last year. Cade finished 5th in MVP voting only behind Victor Wembanyama, Nikola Jokić, Luka Dončić, and back to back MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Cade’s record breaking season dethroned many long standing records that he will hope to break again this season. Cade also finished 16th in the league in points per game, and 2nd in assists per game. 

Breaking Records

Cade Cunningham was the first Piston since Grant Hill to make All-NBA First Team, and while he was granted an “extraordinary circumstances” exception to make it happen. He certainly deserved it just as much as the other four players that joined him on the All-NBA First Team.

Jalen Duren landing on the All-NBA Third Team made him and Cunningham the first duo to make All-NBA Teams in the same season since 2006 when both Ben Wallace and Chauncey Billups made the All-NBA Second Team.

Team Success

Cade led the Pistons as a team to many accolades that young Detroit Pistons had yet to witness in their lifetimes. 

Some of these accolades include the Pistons first 60+ win season since 2005/06, first season as the Eastern Conference 1 seed since 2006/07, first season advancing into the second round of the playoffs since 2008, and 15th team in NBA history to come back and win from being down 3-1 in a playoff series.

Building on the Success

The Pistons greatly surpassed expectations in the 2025/26 season. However, the Eastern Conference got significantly more difficult this offseason. The Pistons still remain deadlocked in negotiations with Duren late into the offseason as well.

With some minor roster changes to keep the Pistons up to speed with the rest of the conference, there is no reason to assume that Cade will not continue to improve as he has every single season in Detroit.

New Weapons

While the rest of the Pistons youth develops to complement Cade, new additions in John Collins and Isaiah Joe should more than fill the void that Tobias Harris, Isaiah Stewart, and Caris LeVert left. 

While Cade did occasionally depend on Harris to navigate the offense, Tobias too often operated in isolation and would alienate Cunningham from the possession entirely. LeVert was also guilty of operating in isolation too often.

Collins conversely is a terrific spot up shooting threat, and an elite lob threat. While Joe is one of the best three point shooting threats in the league. These players complement Cunningham much better, and will see more of the benefits from the spacing Cade generates on offense.

Cunningham is coming off of an already MVP caliber season, with new teammates who complement his offensive playstyle well. While it is certainly far too early to predict; Cade should be able to finish in the top five in MVP voting again this upcoming 2026/27 season as well.