Former NBA Player Dubs Cade Cunningham as Valuable as Nikola Jokic

Chandler Parsons gives high praise to Pistons star Cade Cunningham.

Mar 17, 2025; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) shoots against New Orleans Pelicans guard CJ McCollum (3) during the first half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

While the whole team deserves credit, the Detroit Pistons' turnaround would not be possible without Cade Cunningham. As the former No. 1 pick continues to lead his team to the postseason, he was put in the same conversation as one of the game's top stars.

During Thursday's episode of Run It Back on FanDuel TV, Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams broke down a handful of players who are incredibly valuable to their respective teams. Cunningham ended up being named in this conversation, with Parsons putting him on par with Nikola Jokic for the Denver Nuggets.

"The Nuggets would not be very good if you take Jokic off that roster," Parsons said. "You take Cade Cunningham off the Pistons, they are not even close to being eight games above .500. They are nowhere close to the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference, and this team is dramatically different. He is that important to his team, he does everything."

Cade Cunningham is having an All-NBA season for the pistons.

Do you agree that he’s as valuable as Jokic and Brunson to there success?@ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23 | @MichelleDBeadle pic.twitter.com/ePMN5o4rZX

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) March 20, 2025

Similar to Jokic, Cunningham is the lone All-Star on his team. Seeing that the two are also high-level playmakers, they are also the central hubs on the offensive end. Because of this, their removal from the lineup would drastically impact the on-court product for both the Pistons and the Nuggets.

Now, this doesn't mean Cunningham is in the same tier as Jokic. However, in terms of the value they bring to their team every night, they are comparable. Without Cunningham's emergence this season, Detroit wouldn't find themselves well on their way to ending their playoff drought.

With just a few weeks to go in the regular season, Cunningham continues to put up career highs across the board. Through 65 appearances, he is averaging 25.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and 9.3 APG.

Being placed in the same conversation as a superstar like Jokic is a testament to how massive of a leap Cunningham has made in his emergence to stardom in the NBA.