Cade Cunningham Makes Statement on 2025 NBA All-Star Running
Will the Detroit Pistons get their first All-Star participant since Blake Griffin in 2025? Cade Cunningham’s campaign was strong heading into Saturday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The young veteran’s performance on Saturday was just another statement game, proving he certainly deserves to be in the running so far.
“It feels great, man,” Cunningham told reporters after Saturday’s win.
“It feels great to be winning games. It feels great to be contributing to wins. That’s the main thing. All the things that come with it—it means a lot to me—it means a lot to my family. It’s something that I’ve been dreaming for a long time. I’ve always felt like I belong in those conversations, so to have that recognition means a ton to me. Winning games is the most important thing. I think if I continue to find ways to help my team win, everything I want will come.”
Cunningham has played at a high level when healthy over the last couple of seasons, but the Pistons’ struggles were difficult to overlook. Last year, Cunningham posted averages of 23 points, eight assists, and four rebounds while knocking down five threes per game on 5.4 attempts per outing.
As a team, the Pistons achieved of record of 14-68. Cunningham wasn’t the issue, but he certainly wasn’t winning enough games to put him in the running for the All-Star conversation.
The 2024-2025 season has been a different story. Through Cunningham’s first 30 games, he is producing 24 points per game while knocking down 37 percent of his threes on 6.5 attempts per game. He’s racking up a higher assists rate than ever, producing nearly ten per game. On the glass, Cunningham has been good for a career-high seven rebounds per game.
Detroit hasn’t been in playoff territory this year, but they remained on the Play-In radar through 35 games. At 17-18, the Pistons were ninth in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Indiana Pacers by half a game heading into Monday's action against the Portland Trail Blazers.
With some help from the record, Cunningham ranked in the top ten in Eastern Conference backcourt voting for the 2025 NBA All-Star game. With over 247,000 votes, Cunningham is sixth, behind Trae Young, Jalen Brunson, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and LaMelo Ball.