Detroit Pistons: Predicting Cade Cunningham’s rookie year averages

Cade Cunningham #2 of the Detroit Pistons and Jalen Green #0 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Time to make final predictions on Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham

Enough talk. Here’s the prediction:

Cade Cunningham will average: 18.1 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game.

Let me give you the rationale.

Scoring will not be a concern. During the summer league, Cade proved that one of his biggest strengths is his jump shot. He was able to get his jumper off with ease, and knock them down at a 50% rate.

It wouldn’t be absurd for Cunningham to shoot 35% from three during his rookie season. He shot 40% from behind the line in college, facing double and triple teams. With the Pistons other offensive weapons, he will find himself open far more often.

Now, averaging over 18 points per game in the NBA is no small feat. Cunningham will need to improve his attack off the bounce and show more of a willingness to get to the free throw line. The lack of free throws was one of the few negatives of his summer league experience.

Cade’s offensive role will also play into his potential of achieving this number. All indications are that the Pistons will give Cunningham the reins to the offense right away, as summer league showed that Killian Hayes isn’t ready yet to be primary ball handler.

If Cade plays 30+ minutes per game and has a decently high usage rate, averaging over 19 points per game is right within his abilities.

As for his assist and rebound averages, we expect Cunningham to come into the league as advertised, with the ‘complete game’ that separated him from the other prospects.

If Cade dominates a majority of the ball handling, over six assists is a shoe-in, with the shooters the team has on the roster.

In the summer league, Cade Cunningham showed a willingness to affect the game in a variety of ways, which could lead solid rebounding numbers, even in his first season.

If Cade Cunningham is able to put up numbers similar to these, rookie of the year should be right in his grasp. He may not have the historical season that Luka Doncic had in his rookie season, but Cade’s numbers should put him well on his way to becoming a star.