Pistons Star Cade Cunningham Diagnosed With Collapsed Lung, Will Miss ‘Extended’ Time

Pistons superstar Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a collapsed lung and will miss an “extended” amount of time, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Thursday.

Cunningham, 24, is in the midst of a career year in Detroit. He’s led the Pistons to the top record in the East throughout the year while averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game; as a result Cunningham is on the short list of MVP candidates and seemed a lock to earn his second straight All-NBA nomination.

On Tuesday night he left his team’s win over the Wizards in the first quarter with what Detroit called “back spasms.

The Pistons have 14 games remaining on their schedule and own a 3 1/2 game lead over the Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

Cunningham’s playoff status is in jeopardy for the Pistons

This is a brutal turn of events for the All-Star point guard and his team. Cunningham has been awesome all year long as a two-way force and the Pistons have made for an excellent story as the East’s best team throughout this campaign. They figured to be a serious contender to make the NBA Finals out of the conference; at the very least Detroit figured to win its first playoff series since 2008.

Now that’s all up in the air.

At 49–19 it’s only a matter of time before the Pistons officially clinch a playoff spot. But will Cunningham be available when the postseason comes around? The first day of the playoffs is on April w18, just under four weeks away. That’s not a long runway even though his recovery doesn’t have a specific timeline yet.

On the organizational side, Charania reported there’s “some optimism” Cunningham will be available for playoff basketball.

.@ShamsCharania breaks the news that Cade Cunningham will miss an extended period of time with a collapsed lung. pic.twitter.com/8XG3uiglwp
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 19, 2026

How long Cunningham might need to recover based on similar injuries to other NBA players

An NBA player suffering a collapsed lung is definitely unusual but not unheard of. Hawks guard CJ McCollum has suffered a “pneumothorax” (which can be either a complete lung collapse or a collapse of only a portion of the lung) twice in his career. The first time he dealt with the injury was with the Trail Blazers and it took him just under six weeks to get back on the floor. The second time, McCollum was a member of the Pelicans and missed slightly less time; McCollum was able to return about three and a half weeks later.

It is not yet clear just how similar Cunningham’s injury is to what McCollum dealt with. But based on that general timeline there’s a chance Cunningham is ready to go when the playoffs kick off. But it’s far from a guarantee. And being able to play versus being ready to play playoff basketball are two different things entirely.

A massive development in the Eastern Conference no matter what happens.

More NBA from Sports Illustrated

Listen to SI’s NBA podcast, Open Floor, below or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the show on SI’s YouTube channel.