3-Time NBA All-Star Sounds Off in Defense of Cade Cunningham

A former NBA All-Star recently defended Cade Cunningham's ranking.

Nov 17, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots the ball as Washington Wizards forward Alexandre Sarr (20) defends in the first half at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images | Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has become a highly-debated player in the NBA in recent times. As Cunningham works through his fourth season on an improved Pistons team, his status in the league has been discussed in many ways. Recently, ESPN ranked him as the 13th-best player in the NBA under 25.

Not everybody believes in Cunningham’s status as the 13th-best player under 25. In fact, three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas doesn’t believe there are more than five players under 25 who are better than Cunningham.

“Cade is sitting at 13?!” Arenas said in disbelief. “Cade should be top ten. Top five? Wemby, Edwards, Banchero, Cade, Green.”

Gil’s Arena Reacts To Cade’s ESPN Ranking For Players Under 25 #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/2yi6tHvZhr

— Downtown Deuce (@DowntownDeuce) December 4, 2024

The rest of the panel agreed with the sentiment.

What ESPN Had to Say

"Cunningham has benefited from an improved roster and stability at head coach under J.B. Bickerstaff. In early November, Cunningham had three consecutive triple-doubles, joining Grant Hill as the only player in Pistons history to accomplish the feat. In the Nov. 8 home win against the Hawks, Cunningham became the second NBA player in five seasons to have the game-winning field goal and block. One area of improvement for Cunningham is taking better care of the basketball. He currently ranks first in turnovers at 4.6 per game and has had nine games with at least five turnovers."

Mar 29, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) brings the ball up court against Washington Wizards forward Corey Kispert (24) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

Last year, the former No. 1 overall pick was right outside of the top five, coming in at No. 6.

Statistically, Cunningham is having a better season so far, and his team has made significant strides. Still, ESPN dropped the fourth-year veteran beyond the top ten.

Turnover concerns for Cunningham are fair. This season, he’s averaging more turnovers than ever. His career average is 3.7 turnovers per game. According to Cleaning the Glass, Cunningham turned the ball over at a 16 percent rate through his first 20 games of the season. He ranks in the 25th percentile in that category.

Looking past the turnover issues, Cunningham is nearly averaging a triple-double through the first stretch of the season. In 20 games, he produced an average of 24 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds per game. He’s making 45 percent of his shots and 38 percent of his threes. Both career-highs.