Player comparisons can be a tricky thing. Traits like “playmaking,” may lead one to invoke comparisons to John Stockton or Magic Johnson. Referencing a player as a “great shooter” may lead to Steph Curry or Larry Bird references.
Yet what Cade Cunningham is doing on the court for the Detroit Pistons this year deserves some comparative context. He’s become a scoring point guard, one who leads his team in points and assists and essentially runs all aspects of the team on court. Statistics alone don’t tell the story – the Pistons are winning significantly more games despite the injury to Jaden Ivey – and Cunningham is the biggest reason why.
So, while his game is unique, there are a very useful comparisons to Detroit’s point guard.
Derrick Rose
Before Rose’s devastating knee injuries, he was one of the most gifted all-around guards in the modern NBA with the Chicago Bulls. Rose was drafted first overall out of Memphis when John Calipari was the coach, and he was drafted that high for good reason.
In 2010-2011, Rose averaged 25 points, seven assists and four rebounds per game, his third in the league with a high efficiency rating. Those numbers aren’t too far from what Cunningham is producing now.
A year later, the injuries began, and Rose was never the same player, although he managed to play well over a decade longer. Like Cade, Rose was a high-usage guy who did everything for his team in terms of scoring and playmaking.
The two approach the game much differently, as Rose relied on elite athleticism, but both get to their spots effortlessly to score or set up teammates.
John Wall
It’s easy to forget just how good Wall was in college at Kentucky, and after that as a young player with Washington. He was drafted first overall by the Washington Wizards in 2010 and immediately made his mark, averaging 16.4 points in nearly 38 minutes a game as a rookie.
In his fourth year, Wall average more than 19 points per game with almost nine assists and four rebounds. Wall was 6-3 but had a 6-9 wingspan. Like Cunningham, Wall brought size and skill to the point guard position, but like Rose couldn’t stay healthy. Multiple knee and Achilles injuries shortened Wall’s NBA career, which ended in 2022-23, but prior to that he was a scoring playmaker who ran a heliocentric offense for his team, just like Cade is doing now.
Isiah Thomas
Thomas certainly didn’t have Cunningham’s size, but he more than made up for it with skill and pure determination. Some may debate whether the two-time NBA champion was even six-feet tall, but no matter what “Zeke” measured, he was perhaps the most dynamic scoring point guard of the 1980s.
It’s remarkable to be reminded of the impact Thomas had on the Pistons organization. In his fourth year in 1984-85, Thomas averaged 12 points and a remarkable 14 assists per game, while shooting nearly 46 percent from the floor. He won two titles with his teammates during the “Bad Boys” era in 1989 and 1990.
Cunningham’s personality may be different, but like Thomas he has turned into the team leader off the court, and the reason for belief in franchise ascension on the court. Also like Thomas, he was added to a horrible team mired in a long stretch of losing. Hopefully Cade will have a similar impact in Detroit now that he has taken over as the