Detroit Pistons fans, and the rest of the NBA world, caught a glimpse of the real Cade Cunningham over the last couple of weeks.
I don’t know if it is one of those “out of sight, out of mind” things, but it seems as though some people forgot just how good Cade Cunningham is.
During his now heralded scrimmage versus Team USA, Cade put the Select Team on his back and dominated, doing his best Luka Doncic impression.
In what was originally an effort to prepare Team USA for an eventual battle with Solvenia, the story coming out of the game was that Cade looked like the best player on the court.
This shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise – Team USA actually had extended an invitation to Cade to be a part of the team and he instead opted to play for the Select squad and stay on his recovery timeline for the Pistons.
Cade Cunningham set make huge leap next season
And while Cade might be the most heralded prospect of the bunch, so we shouldn’t be shocked – it’s still encouraging to see him back to his old form, running up and down.
It also looks like he used his time away effectively. Cade looks bigger (in a good way), stronger, and his point of release on his jump shot looks better than ever.
In fact, he likely would have been a perfect point guard for Team USA and could have really elevated the team with his careful pace and precision on offense.
However much you want to read into a scrimmage video in the middle of August, you’d be hard-pressed to find a Detroit Pistons fan who is not ecstatic with the reports coming out about Cade.
Expectations are definitely elevated going into next season. Cade’s connection with Jalen Duren is enough to get the people going.
This got me thinking, Cade is what we’ve always known he is – one of the best young point guards in the NBA. But where exactly does he stack up?
Detroit Pistons: Where does Cade Cunningham rank among NBA’s best young point guards?
Ask any Pistons fan and they would take Cade over most of these guys, but I’ll try to take an objective look at things.
Looking through the data, there is a clear group of top young point guards in the league, all under the age of 25.
It can be a little muddy with positions, and you’ll notice Anthony Edwards, Austin Reeves, Tyler Herro, and Tyrese Maxey are not on this list because they are really shooting guards.
Top 10 Point Guards 25 & under
1. Luka Doncic
2. Ja Morant
3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
4. Trae Young
5. Cade Cunningham
6. De’Aaron Fox
7. Tyrese Hailburton
8. LaMelo Ball
9. Darius Garland
10. Josh Giddey
Detroit Pistons: Where does Cade Cunningham rank among NBA’s best young point guards?
Before you come at with pitch forks, I tried to do a decent mix between NBA resume as it stands today and future projections.
The top three names listed – Luka, Ja, and Shai – are set in stone. These are franchise superstars. Trae Young was hard name to place, but I think his resume speaks for himself regardless of what else is out there.
The Giddey hype is real, I just don’t completely see it yet and he plays alongside one of the other guys on this list so can they both be considered point guards?
Also, don’t rule out Scoot Henderson in this group a year from now.
Bringing it back to Cade, his contemporaries on this list are Hailburton, LaMelo, Garland, and Giddey. I would challenge someone to make an argument for any one of these guys over him.
I know three of them have All-Star appearances or All-NBA nods, but that will come with time for Cade.
In his 12 games before injury last season, he was averaging almost 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists per game, on very cold shooting by Cade’s standards (42% from the field, 28% from three). We know these shooting splits will be higher next year.
He will also see these overall numbers jump as his free throw attempts increase. Right now, Cade is averaging a measly 2.8 free throw attempts per game. Compare that to SGA’s 10.9 per game last season and that’s over 8 points that could be tacked on.
However you break it down, Cade Cunningham belongs in any short list of the best young guards in the league. When he was drafted some said his ceiling was a “Luka Doncic type” creator and franchise centerpiece.
I believe we caught a glimpse of that ceiling during the scrimmage last week and if things go accordingly from here on out, we should see Cade topping this group before we know it.