2 Detroit Pistons ranked in the top-100: Who got snubbed?

Detroit Pistons: Bleacher Report’s top-100 players

#39: Cade Cunningham

I was actually shocked to see Cade Cunningham this high on the list, but it shows that other people are seeing what Detroit fans are seeing, which is a player on the cusp of stardom.

But so far it’s mostly theoretical, as he missed almost all of last season, so putting him this high is definitely based on potential and ceiling.  He’s just ahead of last year’s Rookie of the Year Paolo Banchero and fellow 2021 draft standout Evan Mobley, who I would have bet was higher than Cade just based on being healthy last season and being one of the defensive anchors of a playoff team.

Cunningham came in well ahead of some very good players, including Julius Randle (55), who was on the All-NBA team last year and fellow veterans Chris Paul (69) and CJ McCollum (75), not to mention Khris Middleton, Draymond Green, LaMelo Ball, Andrew Wiggins, Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.

Do I think Cade Cunningham will be better than these players next season? Yes, but I am Homer #1 so that is to be expected, but it was somewhat surprising to see him ranked this high by national writers with no bias towards Detroit.

But given what we’ve seen so far and the fact that Cunningham is healthy for the first time since high school, he could actually be underrated on this list.