Cade Cunningham was voted as the best player in the Eastern Conference by his peers and Pistons fans are nodding along with that assessment.
Cunningham was voted to his 2nd All-Star team and first as a starter when the results were revealed yesterday, and the breakdown of the numbers was interesting.
All-Stars are chosen by a combination of votes from fans, players and media, with fans representing 50 percent of the vote and the other two groups splitting the remaining half.
Cunningham ranked 1st in the Eastern Conference player vote, 2nd in votes from the media and just 4th from the fans, which shows that playing in a smaller market in Detroit has still affected his national visibility even though the Pistons have been atop the East for most of the season.
That fact didn’t escape the players or media and right now, Cunningham has an argument as the best player in the conference, which should get him strong consideration for MVP.
Cade Cunningham is the best of what’s left in the East
With both Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jayson Tatum currently dealing with injuries, Cunningham has a strong argument as the best player in the East.
The media didn’t agree, as they gave that title to Jaylen Brown, who is having an amazing season and surprisingly has the Celtics in 2nd position even though they are missing his All-NBA teammate. Brown has to be given credit for that and he's having an amazing season. He has been by the media and players, who ranked him 1st and 3rd, respectively.
While big-market players like Tyrese Maxey (2nd) and Jalen Brunson (3rd) both finished ahead of Cunningham and Brown in the fan voting, the players and media put more weight on the thing that matters most, which is winning.
This was also true in the West, where Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP on the best team in the league, was just 4th in fan voting, hampered by playing in a small market even though he is likely headed for a 2nd-straight MVP.
Some fans and pundits have suggested attaching more meaning to the All-Star game in an effort to get the players to care and try more, but these numbers show why I’ve always thought that was a bad idea, as it’s still a popularity contest with fans (many of whom don’t even watch the games) accounting for half of the vote.
It was great to see Cade get the nod from his peers, who realize that being the best player on the best team in the conference should mean something, even if that guy isn’t yet a household name.