Cade Cunningham has quickly proven that he’s already the best player on the Detroit Pistons and one of the best rookies in the league. It’s easy for Detroit fans to claim that they have the best young player in the league, and they have a case.
In an effort to be as objective as possible, I polled writers at Air Alamo on what statistical categories they value. Options were field goals made, field goal percentage, free throws made, free throw percentage, three-pointers made, three-point percentage, points, assist/turnover ratio, defensive rebounds, offensive rebounds, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, turnovers, and double-doubles. All numbers are pulled on a per-game basis when possible.
Of course, when polling that specific group, I realized that Spurs fans tend to value defense, efficiency, and ball movement more so than more modern fanbases that value high-volume shooting, isolation plays (which are almost always a good thing), and confidence with the ball, which is hard to measure.
Keeping in mind the biases presented by my survey group, I then ranked every single rookie from the class of 2021 by where they rank with other rookies in each category. Cunningham ranks first in scoring, second in assists, and fourth in rebounds, which is phenomenal. His efficiency, particularly within the arc, is subpar, as he sits at 31st among the 53 rookies who have recorded any playing time.
Detroit Pistons: Where does Cade Cunningham rank among rookies?
Based on his rankings within the 16 categories listed above, weighted by importance in accordance with the San Antonio writers, Cade is the fourth-best rookie in the league (as of 12/20). He trails Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, and Franz Wagner. Cade’s very impressive scoring, rebounding, and assists boost him into the top five, although his poor shooting numbers and class-leading 3.8 turnovers a game keep him from taking the number one spot. It should be noted that his shooting percentages and turnovers are keeping him from the top spot but there is a lot of season left.
So, what does this mean for Detroit and the Pistons? Cade is already a top rookie after missing five of the first six games of the season. His shooting has been inconsistent, and he is not careful with the basketball in his hands, but he’s expected to do more than any other rookie in the league with a 26.1 usage rate, which is by far the highest of any rookie.
Scottie Barnes has Pascal Siakam and Fred VanVleet, Evan Mobley has Jarrett Allen and Darius Garland, and even Josh Giddey has Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to lighten their first-year responsibilities. Cade is an island. With Jerami Grant out for the foreseeable future, Cade is the best player on the team with no real help. He’s expected to play the role of a seven-year vet, and it has clearly taken a toll on his shooting at times.
The Detroit Pistons are by no means out of the woods yet in their rebuild, but the cornerstone is there and is already playing at an elite level. If Cade Cunningham had some help, he’d still be a scoring, passing, and rebounding machine whose shot percentage would be way up. As for now, Detroit can take solace knowing they have a top-five rookie at the bare minimum, and perhaps the best one when context is considered.