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Cade Cunningham Reacts to Eye-Popping Detroit Pistons Stat

Cade Cunningham credits his team for the Pistons' latest achievement.
Justin Grasso|
Jan 6, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots a foul shot against Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images
Jan 6, 2025; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots a foul shot against Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

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Detroit Pistons

Since Cade Cunningham has joined the Detroit Pistons, he’s been involved in a lot of losing. The former No. 1 overall pick entered one of the toughest situations in the NBA for a young player, who was immediately given the keys to a franchise.

On a personal note, Cunningham had his flashes, but he was going uncredited since his team consistently lost as a historic pace. This year, the tables are turning. Cunningham is in the All-Star conversation as an early top-ten vote-getter. A lot of that has to do with Detroit’s early success.

While the Pistons are still in the playoff hunt, they achieved a .500 record for the first time in January since 2018 with a win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. Clearly, there is notable progress being made.

“I appreciate it a lot. It’s taken a lot of work from everybody. So, to be at this point right now, it feels good. A lot of games left, but this is a huge moment for us. I think it’s only something we can build on,” Cunningham told reporters on Monday night after the win over Portland.

Prior to Monday’s game, Cunningham was averaging 24 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds in 31 games. It’s clear the step taken by Cunningham has been a game-changer for this version of the Pistons, but his teammates—old and new—have been major as well.

Before going down with an injury, Jaden Ivey was having a career-high season in scoring and efficiency. Malik Beasley has been one of the sharpest high-volume shooters in the NBA.

While Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr have come at a pricey cost, their veteran presence has been a difference-maker for a young Pistons squad. It’s unclear how far the Pistons can take themselves this season, but they’ve been in Play-In contention for most of the year. If they can keep it up, they just might be in the running for some form of postseason play for the first time in years.

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Justin Grasso
JUSTIN GRASSO

Justin Grasso was a credentialed writer and publisher covering the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated’s 76ers On SI Network. Grasso got his start in sports media in 2016 with FantasyPros, working the news desk, providing game-by-game player analysis and updates on the Portland Trail Blazers and the Golden State Warriors. By 2017, he joined FanSided’s Philadelphia Eagles site as a staff writer. After spending one season covering the Eagles as a staff writer, Grasso was promoted to become the site’s Co-Editor. For the next two NFL seasons, he covered the Eagles closely before broadening his NFL coverage. For a brief stint, Grasso covered the NFL on a national basis after joining Heavy.com as an NFL news desk writer. In 2019, Grasso joined the 76ers' beat on a part-time basis, stepping into a role with South Jersey’s 97.3 ESPN. Ahead of the 2019-2020 NBA season, he concluded a three-year stint covering the Eagles and joined the Sixers beat full-time. Grasso has covered the 76ers exclusively since then for Sports Illustrated. He is a member of the Pro Basketball Writers Association. Twitter: @JGrasso_ Instagram: @JGrassoMedia

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