Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham entering Kobe Bryant, CP3 territory

The Detroit Pistons have only won two games this season, but Cade Cunningham is becoming a superstar right before our eyes.

After a rough start, Cade has dominated the last four games, averaging 27.8 points, 8.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists while shooting 49.5 percent from the field. These are not only All-Star numbers but would put Cade Cunningham in the running for All-NBA if he kept it up for the whole season.

Cade has been more aggressive looking for his shot, which is what this team needs, as everything flows through him and when he gets going it frees up everyone else.

What’s been most impressive is that Cade is doing this without the benefit of making many 3-point shots, which is ultimately a good thing, as few of the top scorers in history have bombed away from 3-point range, with most of them getting it done in the paint and mid-range.

Cade’s mid-range game has been spectacular this season, and he is on a path to join some of the best mid-range scorers in the league and of all time.

Detroit Pistons: Cade Cunningham in the mid-range

Many of the NBA’s elite scorers got it done from the mid-range, whether you are thinking of Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki or Kobe Bryant. It’s an easy shot for most NBA shooters, and when you have the size of a Kobe or a Cade, it’s hard to stop, as he can just pull up and shoot over you.

Cade Cunningham is clearly making this shot his bread-and-butter, as he has increased his mid-range attempts from 2.2 to 5.1 and his percentage from 41.3 percent last season all the way up to 51.2 percent in this one.

Cade has the 6th-most mid-range attempts and makes this season and is currently in line with some of the best mid-range shooters in the league. CJ McCollum is shooting 50 percent on 4.7 attempts per game and Devin Booker is also hitting 50 percent on 5.3 attempts per game.

Chris Paul, who is considered one of the best mid-range shooters of all time, hit 51.9 percent last season on 4.6 attempts per game, so Cade Cunningham is already in that territory for the Detroit Pistons.

Then there is Kobe Bryant, who is considered by many to be one of the best mid-range scorers of all time. In his highest scoring season (2005-6) Kobe shot an unreal 12.2 mid-range attempts per game and hit 41.3 percent of them.

I don’t know if Cade will ever take that many mid-range shots per game, but it shows you that a player can lead the league in scoring without shooting a ton of 3-point shots.

In Kobe’s second season in the league, he only took 3.2 attempts and hit 32.4 percent, and when he was Cade’s age now he hit 39.7 percent of his mid-range shots on 7.7 attempts per game.

Cade is already ahead of where 21-year-old Kobe Bryant was from the mid-range and is line with some of the best mid-range shooters in the game right now.

Cunningham may  never have Kobe’s volume from the mid-range, but he is making it his signature shot, and right now, it looks just about as impossible to stop as a prime Kobe (RIP).