Detroit Pistons 2021 Early Draft Profile: Cade Cunningham

Cade Cunningham’s Weaknesses

While there are not many glaring issues with Cade Cunningham’s game, there are a few things that could worry fans. The history of the NBA is littered with No. 1 overall draft picks who did not live up to their potential.

Starting with the parts of the game that should be less of a worry, is his control while he has possession of the ball.

While going through videos of watching Cunningham play, there were instances where he would see an opening, and then go to attack the lane, but, right before he initiated, he would lose the ball for a split second. That split second is the difference between getting a good look, and having to reset the offense.

This should not be the biggest worry though, since as he gets older, he should get more comfortable going against better defenders, and grow some confidence in that field.

There are also some concerns about whether his shooting numbers in college will translate to the pros.

Outside of his college career, Cunningham has struggled to make shots from the three-point line. Most notably, in the 2019 World Cup, Cunningham missed 13 of his 14 attempts from three and only made one of six at the Nike Peach Jam in the same year. This too, should not be much of a worry, since Cunningham is young now and has only been improving his game over the past two years.

But there is one thing that can actually be a worry; and that is his explosiveness. While Cunningham is an exceptional athlete, and he shows it through his game, he does not possess the electric first step that many coaches and front offices look for in a top prospect.

Without that explosive ability, Cunningham has still been able to get by defenders in college, who are worse than the average NBA defender. Once Cunningham is met with NBA-level defenders, he will not have as big of an advantage, or really one at all..

With the NBA moving more and more towards a game that is all about flow and keeping the ball moving, Cunningham’s lack of elite explosiveness can turn into something that could downgrade his overall game.