NBA MVP Ladder Shows Love to Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham

It’s been quite a season for Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham.

Recently, the veteran guard’s All-Star campaign received a major boost. When NBA.com released the latest version of the MVP ladder rankings, Cunningham made his way into the Top 10.

He’s not necessarily in the conversation as a potential winner now, but the Pistons have just another reason to be excited about the progression of their former first-overall draft pick.

“Cunningham has arguably been a top-five player since the calendar flipped to 2025, and actually, he has been solid all season,” writes NBA.com’s Shaun Powell.

In the latest @NBA MVP ladder Cade Cunningham comes in at 9th. Pretty good considering @espn ranked him the 67th best player in the NBA before this season started. pic.twitter.com/yFn6BN03D9
— Pistons Talk (@Pistons__Talk) January 17, 2025

“It’s just that his flow from November through December was done in the shadows. But now that the Pistons are rolling — they’re 7-2 this month with an impressive road win over the Knicks on Monday — the shine is on him.”

Entering the NBA as the top pick of the 2021 NBA Draft, Cunningham had sky-high expectations attached to him. There was never really a moment where Cunningham was labeled a draft bust. However, injuries and a lack of team success caused most of Cunningham’s career to go unnoticed by the masses.

There was no Rookie of the Year victory in 2022 for Cunningham. He wasn’t really in the NBA All-Star conversation through his next three seasons, including last year when he averaged 23 points, four rebounds, and eight assists.

With the Pistons failing to win at least 15 games throughout the entire 2023-2024 NBA season, Cunningham had a hard time shaking the empty stats claim.

This year has been a different story, though. Cunningham is one of the NBA’s triple-double leaders. He improved his scoring, passing, rebounding, and shooting efficiency while leading the Pistons to more success than last season by January.

Cade Cunningham All-Star season bag work pic.twitter.com/2Mjp3t1UO3
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) January 9, 2025

“We won’t get too far ahead of ourselves with Cunningham, who checks in at No. 9. But, he deserves his bouquet,” Powell added. “Let’s see how he responds to all the hype from here and if he can get the once-lowly Pistons into the playoffs. That’s what an MVP candidate does.”

Heading into Saturday’s action against the Phoenix Suns, the Pistons hold a 21-20 record. They place eighth in the Eastern Conference and are one game back from a non-Play-In seed.

Through 37 games, Cunningham has posted averages of 24 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds. He’s knocking down threes at a 38 percent clip.

Sitting ninth on the list, Cunningham is placed in front of notable names such as Jalen Brunson, Kevin Durant, and LeBron James. He trails Alperen Sengun, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Victor Wembanyama, Karl Anthony-Towns, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

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