Cade Cunningham vs. Josh Giddey in battle of rookie point guards

The Detroit Pistons and OKC Thunder have a lot of similarities these days, including having rookie point guards in Cade Cunningham and Josh Giddey.

Cunningham was the number one pick for the Pistons and is really starting to play like it, putting up solid all-around numbers even though the Pistons aren’t winning many games.

The same could be said for Giddey, who was a bit of a surprise pick at #6 but has shown that the Thunder know what they are doing, as he too has been very good even though his team hasn’t won much.

The losing was expected and these two teams are once again in a race for the number one pick, but unlike in seasons past, they have star rookies who are starting to turn heads around the league.

But which one has been better so far, Cade Cunningham or Josh Giddey? Let’s take a look at some of the numbers.

Cade Cunningham vs. Josh Giddey: Who is the better point guard prospect?

There are a ton of similarities between Cade Cunningham and Josh Giddey, as both are point guards with plus size who lack insane athleticism or speed.

They are team players who look to set up teammates and can fill a stat sheet in a number of ways.

Here is how their numbers stack up:

Josh Giddey

• 10.4 points
• 7.2 rebounds
• 5.8 assists/2.8 turnovers
• 39.1% FG/ 25.7% 3pt on 3.5 attempts per game
• 21% usage rate

Cade Cunningham

• 14.1 points
• 6.3 rebounds
• 4.6 assists/3.7 turnovers
• 37.1% FG/28.7% 3pt on 7.2 attempts per game
• 25.6% usage rate

As you can see, they are pretty close statistically and both guys are a threat to put up a triple double every time they step on the court.

Both turn the ball over too much, though this is bigger weakness for Cade Cunningham, one that can partially be explained by his high usage rate and the fact that he is a rookie point guard on a bad team. As these two guys get stronger and learn more about which passes won’t work in the NBA, I expect those numbers to go down.

I should also mention that neither of these guys get to the line much, as they both average fewer than two free-throw attempts per game, a number they would both like to go up. This too will come with learning the game and how to milk the referees for calls as Chris Paul did against the Pistons the other night.

I think the biggest difference between them is that Cade projects as a better scorer and is already a better shooter from long range while taking double the attempts. If you take out Cade’s first few games when he was still coming back from injury, his numbers are closer to his career averages. Cunningham has also hit 84.4 percent of his free throws, while Giddey is hitting just 65.4 percent, which is usually a pretty good predictor of a guy’s future shot.

Giddey is a gifted playmaker and plus rebounder, but he may never be much of a shooter from range, though he’ll obviously get better.

Given that both of them are on young, bad teams, I’d say they are about even at this point in their respective careers, but that Cade Cunningham has a higher ceiling as a scorer and will eventually average more than 20 a game, which I am not sure you can say about Giddey.

Fans of the Pistons and Thunder should be excited, as they both have rookie point guards who are foundational pieces of their rebuild.