How Cade Cunningham Shook Off Recent Slump To Reignite His MVP Case

Cade Cunningham had a couple of rough games, starting in Cleveland and ending with Cade sitting out in a loss to the Nets. Here is how he has rallied with recent impressive performances.

Mar 8, 2026; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat guard Dru Smith (12), center Bam Adebayo (13) and center Kel'el Ware (7) defend Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) during the second half at Kasey Center. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-Imagn Images | Rhona Wise-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham had a horrendous showing in the Detroit Pistons 109-113 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers last week.

Cade shot 25% without making a three, while dishing out 14 assists, and rallying in 6 boards. This performance was not enough to beat Cleveland.

Cunningham followed this game by shooting 10-26 with eight assists and four rebounds in a loss to the Spurs in San Antonio. He suffered a left quadriceps injury during this loss that resulted in his absence the next game.

The Nets narrowly beat the Pistons 107-105 on Saturday while Cunningham rested his quad injury. With three games lost in a row, he returned after missing only one game to face the Heat in Miami.

Cade returns

Cunnignham returned Sunday on the second half of a back to back that started with a loss to the Nets the day prior. 

Cunningham recorded a 26 point, 10 assist double-double on 50% shooting in the Pistons 110-121 loss to Miami. Cade shot an efficient 6-9 from long range despite the loss.

This performance marked a turning point for Cade as he was able to build on this performance the next game.

The Pistons got the chance for revenge when they faced off against the Nets for the second time in 4 days, this time in Brooklyn.

The Pistons decimated the Nets on Tuesday, winning by a large margin of 138-100. Cunningham scored an impressive 21 points, with only 2 shots missed. Cade further made this win an MVP caliber performance by tallying a stellar 15 assists in addition to his efficient shooting night.

MVP race

Unfortunately, Cunningham’s cold spell was poorly timed for his momentum in the MVP race. 

As of Friday, the NBA's updated MVP ladder still has Cunningham sitting third, only behind Denver’s Nikola Jokic and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Monday, the two western conference candidates faced off against each other. The result was each player putting on an MVP level performance.

In a 3 point loss for Denver, Jokic was able to record an impressive 32/14/13 triple double. While MVP frontrunner Shai Gilgeous Alexander proved why he is still leading the race by recording 35/9/15 with no turnovers in the win for OKC.

Despite these performances, Cunningham is still very much alive in the MVP race. Regardless of having one of the easier remaining schedules, Cade will have to be at his best if he wants to close the gap in such a competitive MVP race. 

If he does, he will be the first ever Piston to be awarded the MVP honors.