Cade Cunningham’s Lack of Free Throws Leave Pistons Frustrated

Monty Williams and Cade Cunningham discuss the Pistons' lack of free throws lately.

When Cade Cunningham entered the NBA, he was the most notable prospect in the 2021 NBA Draft. After becoming the first overall pick to the Detroit Pistons, Cunningham was immediately recognized as one of the game’s rising stars. 

Typically, stars in the NBA have a favorable whistle when it comes to drawing fouls. Unfortunately, for Cunningham, it appears he’s still working on finding ways to garner trips to the free throw line more frequently.

After Saturday’s loss against the Orlando Magic, Pistons head coach Monty Williams ranted about the lack of calls for Cunningham and the rest of the team, being that he believes it’s been a frequent issue all year long.

Revisiting the final play, where Orlando star Paolo Banchero was able to draw a foul after pump-faking, Williams used that as an example to defend Cunningham. 

“How does a guy, even on the last bucket, how do you get to the basket like that and not draw contact?” said the head coach. “There were a number of times that I thought [Cade] wasn’t trying to manipulate the contact, there was just contact. It’s frustrating because when I look at their free throw numbers, Paolo has nine. Cade is a guy who attacks the basket.”

On Saturday, Cunningham attempted 20 shots in 31 minutes of action. Eight of his shots came within striking distance of the basket. As many times as he attacked, Cunningham finished the game without a single free throw attempt.

“There’s a lot of things I want to say,” the guard told reporters after the matchup. “But I want to keep my money.”

Searching for answers, Cunningham publicly questions his lack of free throw visits while wisely holding back his true thoughts. Not only does the third-year standout want to avoid getting hit with a fine from the league, but he figures less complaining could help him land in a better spot moving forward.

“I take pride in being a good basketball player,” Cunningham added. “I don’t take pride in the fact that I can’t get to the line. I’m trying to get there. I’m watching the stuff, trying to learn from it. I have to stop [explitive] and crying. I feel like that’s making them not want to look out for me more. I don’t know what it is. … I’m working on it. I’m trying to get it.”

As for Monty Williams, the frustration lingers.

“I mean, look at our starting group,” said the head coach. “We got ten free throws from our starting [group]. That’s really hard to do in a game that handsy and physical. I’m not trying to be disrespectful or get a fine, I’m just stating facts. I speak two languages: English and facts. That’s what I’m seeing. It’s hard. Our guys are frustrated with it. I’m trying to keep them at this place of poise. When you look at this thing night in and night out — 13 free throws in a physical game like that is hard to swallow.” 

As much as the Magic landed a more favorable whistle on Saturday, gaining 21 attempts from the free throw line, it wasn’t the difference-maker in the matchup. With Orlando hitting just 66.7 percent of their free throws, they scored just five more points from the free throw line compared to the Pistons.

Either way, the Pistons would like to see fair calls to benefit Cunningham. With the young star averaging just four free throw attempts per game, slightly above his career average, Monty Williams believes he should be getting a better whistle.