Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons is entering his second season in the NBA, but he is already getting some love as one of the league’s best point guards.
It makes sense, as he put together a rookie season that few active players have matched, filling the stat sheet with an all-around game on offense and taking on tough assignments on the other end.
Many expect Cade Cunningham to make a big leap in his sophomore season, as he has been putting on muscle and working out with some of the elite players in the NBA in addition to his own team workouts.
I don’t think there is any doubt that Cade will soon be considered one of the top point guards in the NBA. He’s not quite there yet, but is getting close according to one recent list of the top point guards in the league.
Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham’s rank among top point guards
If you were making a list of the best young guards in the NBA, Cade would almost certainly be in the top three or four guys, but when you look at the entire league, it’s a tough group to crack, at least for now.
Josh Cohen from OrlandoMagic.com recently put together a list of the top-10 point guards in the NBA for NBA.com and this is what it looked like:
- #10: James Harden
- #9: Chris Paul
- #8: LaMelo Ball
- #7: Damian Lillard
- #6: Kyrie Irving
- #5: Darius Garland
- #4: Trae Young
- #3: Ja Morant
- #2: Stephen Curry
- #1: Luke Doncic
Cade Cunningham was an honorable mention along with CJ McCollum, Jalen Brunson, Markelle Fultz, De’Aaron Fox, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, Fred VanVleet, Jamal Murray, Josh Giddey, Marcus Smart, and D’Angelo Russell.
The good news is that Cade is probably the best young player out of the honorable mentions (Fultz?!? Slight Orlando bias methinks) so could be the next to crack the top-10, as Holiday, Smart and McCollum are in the latter stages of their primes.
It’s hard to argue with anyone in the top-10 for now, but I do think a strong sophomore season coupled with a drop off (or injuries) from some of the older players (Harden, Paul, Irving) could get Cade there if he continues on this trajectory.
I would also argue that defense didn’t play heavily into this list, as some of these guys in the top-10 are among the worst defenders at their position in the entire NBA.
Cade Cunningham is not there just yet, but he will be soon, and within 3-4 years he could be near the top of this list.