Cade Cunningham is a strong contender to lead the league in assists next season, especially with all the new shooting on the Pistons, but the return of Tyrese Haliburton could thwart that hope. Last season, Cade finished with the second-most assists in the NBA only behind Nikola Jokic while Haliburton missed the entire season with an Achilles injury. Hali is a passing maestro in his own right and will be hungry to prove himself next season, possibly with an assists title.
Haliburton is a real threat for the assists crown
In the 2024-25 season, Haliburton barely edged out Cunningham in assists per game, 9.2 to 9.1. Cade took another step up last season to 9.9 assists per game but Haliburton already has an assists title in his career from averaging 10.9 assists per game in the 2023-24 season. Next season, Haliburton will be looking to hit those high assists marks again while proving that his return is the biggest addition in the Central division.
Neither Cunningham nor Haliburton will have the same starting lineup next season as they've had in the past. For Cade, that'll mean swapping out Tobias Harris for John Collins, who is a better play finisher and could generate more assists for Cade. For Hali, that means adding Ivica Zubac as his center, a deadly pick-and-roll partner who can feast on inside feeds.
Both point guards have proven to be elite playmakers regardless of their supporting cast, but they'll have even more weapons next season. The Pacers are still expected to run their spread pick-and-roll offense with Haliburton at the helm and deadly shooters surrounding him and Zubac. The Pistons should have more shooting than ever before in Cade's career and hopefully some offensive growth from Ausar Thompson and Jalen Duren (assuming he re-signs) as well.
Cade has one important lesson to learn from Hali
However, regardless of who racks up more assists, there is one key factor separating Cunningham and Haliburton as playmakers so far in their careers. Haliburton has averaged far fewer turnovers while still making plays for his teammates. Even in his assists champion season, he only averaged 2.3 turnovers per game; that would be a career-low for Cunningham by far.
Taking better care of the ball should be an offseason priority for Cade, since turnovers are one of his few offensive weaknesses. He took a step in the right direction last season by averaging the best assist-to-turnover ratio of his career, but still coughed up the ball 3.7 times per game. That was the 4th highest mark in the league and a major factor holding back his offensive impact.
With better ball security, Cade can not only match Haliburton in assists but also overall playmaking impact. Cade is already arguably more impactful on offense generally due to his impressive scoring, but Haliburton still has a claim to being the better passer for now. If Cade wants to catch him in that regard, he'll need to win his own assists title and also lower his turnovers.
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