What History Says About Cade Cunningham’s Return Timeline From Collapsed Lung

Cade Cunningham's collapsed lung is a gutpunch to the Detroit Pistons.

Cunningham is the axis in which this Pistons team revolves around every single game. The entire offense is schemed around what Cunningham is capable of doing as the captian and on-court leader of this team. Through scoring, faciliatating, and defensive effort, Cunningham had been dominating the league all season.

As daunting and intimidating as a collapsed lung may sound to the average person, there's still a chance Cunningham returns before the start of the NBA Playoffs. The Pistons are currently still at the very top of the Eastern conference with a win-loss record of 50-19. Because of the injury, the Pistons can slide down in the standings and he himself can slide out of being eligible for end-of-season awards.

The history of NBA players with collapsed lungs can give fans a bit of optimism.

Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barne — Mar 15, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives the the basket against Toronto Raptors guard Scottie Barnes (4) during the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images | John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

C.J. McCollum's history of collapsed lungs

Atlanta Hawks guard C.J. McCollum has had lung-related injuries twice in his NBA career. The first collapsed lung he suffered was in 2021 with the Portland Trailblazers. McCollum missed six weeks of regular season action in 2021. Luckily for him, his injury occurred in December and was able to return with plenty of time in the season.

In November 2023, C.J. McCollum found himself as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. While with the Pelicans, it was discovered he had a small pneumothorax in his right lung. A pneumothorax is a leaking of air in between your lung and chest wall, according to the Mayo Clinic. This time around, he missed 12 games and came back in three weeks.

Cunningham's diagnosis

ESPN's Shams Charania reported that Cunningham is slated to miss an extended but unknown period of time. Cunningham is set to be re-evaluated in two weeks, but the timetable for an actual return is unclear. He was diagnosed with a left lung pneumothorax.

Pistons are hopeful he's able to return shortly after the two-week evaluation period.

Cunningham has 60 qualified games played and is currently short of the All-NBA criteria.

The Pistons have 14 games remaining.

Cunningham earned All-NBA last season and as a result, saw his rookie max extension increase from $222M to $269M. https://t.co/hTtRyG8vfa
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) March 19, 2026

Given the two-week period, Cunningham will miss a minimum of eight games for the Pistons. The Pistons have 14 games remaining in the regular season and if Cunningham misses nine of those 14 games, he'll be disqualified for end-of-season NBA awards.

Gerald Wallace's diagnosis

"Crash" Gerald Wallace was as tough as they come in the NBA, so when he bumped into Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum during a layup attempt in a 2009 regular season game and had trouble getting back up, people in the arena knew something was really wrong.

Wallace suffered a fractured rib and part of his left lung collapsed. "30 to 40 percent" of Wallace's left lung had collapsed during the flagrant foul from Bynum. Despite needing a tube inserted into his chest to restore full function of the lung, he missed just seven games in 15 days. Wallace returned to action two weeks after suffering the injury and played 38 minutes in his return.

The recovery time for an injury like this clearly varies, but Cunningham being out of action for two weeks is guaranteed. Players like Marcus Sasser, Daniss Jenkins, and Kevin Huerter are going to have to step up as premier facilitators and primary pick-and-roll ball handlers.