4x NBA All-Star Breaks Down Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham

Today’s NBA seemingly lacks pure point guards. That’s not necessarily a knock, but as former Sixth Man of the Year Lou Williams recently stated, more guards entering the league these days are hybrids.

Point guards are turning into shooting guards at the next level, as they haven’t fine-tuned their playmaking for the NBA just yet. On the other hand, some natural scoring guards are putting more emphasis on their passing and playmaking to become point guards at the next level.

When it comes to pure point guards, former four-time NBA All-Star Rajon Rondo recently pointed to Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham as one of the league’s young and emerging guards who has the tools to be the total package as a pure point guard.

“I feel like if I can get a Cade to understand how to manage the game because he’s the three-level scorer, he can manipulate a game on both ends of the floor, so for me, if I can get my hands on a Cade Cunningham … I think [Cade] could become that type of point guard,” Rondo said on Run It Back.

"If I can get my hands on Cade Cunningham...I think he could become a pure point guard." 👀

Cunningham is already a three-level scorer, but with a few tweaks, @RajonRondo thinks Cade wouldn't need 30 points to win games for the Pistons

📺 https://t.co/VPI1jNDlZS pic.twitter.com/77OVZr41Wa
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 22, 2025

Rondo acknowledged that first-year Pistons head coach JB Bickerstaff has done a great job of helping Cunningham take another step in the right direction during his fourth NBA season.

While Cunningham isn’t quite a finished product, and could use some tweaks in the eyes on Rondo, the two-time NBA champion believes that some additional personnel tweaks could be key in unlocking another level of Cunningham’s game.

“If he has to be the man and get 30, then that’s what he has to do,” Rondo added. “If he had maybe two more superstars in the game, he wouldn’t have to manage and go get 30 every night.”

The Pistons’ revamped front office put a lot of focus into getting high-volume shooters for Cunningham this past summer. They traded for Tim Hardaway Jr. and signed Malik Beasley in free agency.

With the addition of reliable shooters, who are proven in the NBA already, Cunningham started averaging two more assists than his career average throughout the 2024-2025 NBA season. He’s nearly producing a double-double on a nightly basis, thanks to his scoring and passing.

Overall, Cunningham is averaging 25 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds this season. He’s on pace to earn his first All-Star honors at 23 years old.

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