Victor Wembanyama is bound to be honored in NBA awards ballots this season while Cade Cunningham may be ineligible, despite Wemby playing less total minutes. Despite his collapsed lung which could keep him out until the playoffs, Cade is likely to finish with more playing time this season than Wembanyama. Fortunately, the Pistons have been able to keep afloat without Cade thanks to others stepping up Cade’s omission from awards ballots still hurts in light of this star comparison.
Cade Cunningham’s situation is exposing the NBA’s hypocrisy
The league’s 65-game requirement to be eligible for awards has already received backlash, but Cade may be the worst victim yet. When he was healthy, it didn’t look like the Pistons could succeed without him playing heavy minutes. It’s great that the Pistons have been able to find hidden gems and survive without him. But Cade never had the luxury of resting by playing less minutes or coming off the bench like Wemby had.
The Pistons have had to remake their entire offensive system without Cade. On the other hand, the Spurs have always had a viable system even without Wemby thanks to their multiple All-Star level guards. This allowed San Antonio to manage Wembanyama’s load all season long, which is exactly what the league was aiming to reduce with their 65-game rule.
Cade played heavy minutes almost every game and rarely sat out, even when he was dealing with injuries, because his team couldn’t afford any less. His effort and availability on a night-to-night basis should be applauded by the NBA, not erased from the history books entirely because of a freak injury.
The NBA is sending the wrong message by omitting Cade
If the rule isn’t changed for this year’s awards voting, Cade may not see himself chosen for any All-NBA team. This comes in spite of his play at a First-Team level for 75% of the season. His brilliance and leadership have guided the Pistons to the top record in the East, with enough of a cushion to maintain that position without him for the final 25 games.
I can see the argument that Cade playing at that level for 60 games isn’t enough to land him on the First Team over 5 other players doing the same for 70 games. But to keep him off the Second and Third teams as well seems overly punitive. Not only could this measure affect Cade’s historical legacy, it could also impact his contract if the same situation occurred in the wrong year.
By denying Cade while awarding Wemby, the NBA is implicitly telling stars that it’s better to rest throughout the season rather than constantly giving full effort. We may soon see other teams also implement similar strategies to preserve their stars and avoid the fate of Cade Cunningham.