Detroit Pistons Star Cade Cunningham Makes Major Investment in Hometown

Detroit Pistons All-Star Cade Cunningham is getting ready for a busy weekend.

He’ll be representing the No. 1 seed in the East at the NBA All-Star Game as a starter.

However, before Cunningham departed Detroit for the All-Star festivities, he landed a major investment in his hometown team.

A native of Arlington, Texas, Cunningham announced that he purchased a minority ownership stake in his hometown MLB team, the Texas Rangers, via ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Detroit Pistons All-Star and Arlington, Texas native Cade Cunningham has purchased a minority ownership stake of his hometown MLB team, the Texas Rangers, he told ESPN.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 12, 2026

Cunningham grew up and played high school sports in Arlington. He was a fan of the Rangers, but played quarterback in football as he hoped it would help make him a better passer on the basketball court. After watching his brother play college basketball, Cunningham decided he wanted to focus on hoops. And the rest is history.

Early in his freshman basketball season, Cunningham started on varsity. By his junior year, Cunningham transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida, as they had a successful basketball program. During his senior year, Cunningham teamed up with fellow five-star recruits including Scottie Barnes.

Cunningham was a unanimous five-star recruit and drew interest from Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina. But when Oklahoma State hired his older brother as an assistant coach, it felt obvious that Cunningham would land with the Cowboys. He only spent one season with the Cowboys before becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

Cunningham’s hometown roots

Cunningham spent two years in Florida playing high school basketball and one season in Oklahoma playing college hoops. He was only away from his home in Arlington for three years prior to landing with the Pistons in the NBA.

And it’s clear that his hometown is still very important to him, as an investment in a professional baseball team is quite a large undertaking for anyone, let alone a 24-year-old superstar.

Cunningham joins a growing list of other elite athletes to invest in professional sports teams or leagues.

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes owns a minority stake of the Kansas City Royals and also owns an F1 racing team. Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett owns a minority share of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Several NBA stars own stakes in MLS franchises, including Kevin Durant, James Harden and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Of course, Cunningham is one of the league’s highest-paid stars. He’s being smart with his money. But his investment also puts him in the same conversation as stars like Durant, Harden and Antetokounmpo, who have been around for much longer and have accomplished the feats that Cunnningham feels ready for on the court and off of it.