Detroit Pistons Veteran Praises Dominant Play of Cade Cunningham

Detroit Pistons guard continues to pt up All-Star numbers.

Dec 23, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) controls the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Max Christie (12) during the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Through the first two months of the season, the biggest topics of conversation regarding the Detroit Pistons has been the play of Cade Cunningham. The former No. 1 pick is in the midst of a breakout season, and has built up a strong case to be an All-Star this year.

Detroit is drastically ahead of their win pace from last year, and Cunningham's emergence has been a major catalyst in that. He's been the driving force of the offense, not only as a scorer but as a playmaker as well. The Pistons have found the primary pillar of their offense, and Cunningham is thriving in the role.

Through 26 games, Cunningham is putting up career-highs across the board. He is averaging 23.9 PPG, 7.0 RPG, and 9.7 APG. Along with being one of the NBA's top playmakers this season, he is almost among the league leaders in triple-doubles.

Earlier this week, Tim Hardaway Jr. was a guest on The Official Detroit Pistons podcast. When Cunningham was brought up, the veteran forward had nothing but great things to say about the Pistons rising star.

"Cade does everything, he's our leader," Hardaway Jr. said. "He does an amazing job on both ends of the floor...I don't know what in the world got in to him, triple-double machine for sure. He's getting them easy."

"Cade does everything... He's our leader."@T_HardJR on the latest edition of The Official Detroit Pistons Podcast.

Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/xEBqsFHvpg pic.twitter.com/ZpRUs6S2LV

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) December 25, 2024

So far this season, Cunningham has notched a triple-double on six different occasions. The most recent instance came last week against the Miami Heat, when he also dished out a career-high 18 assists.

Over the summer, the Pistons made a big investment in Cunningham by giving him a five-year max extension. Since inking that deal, the former No. 1 pick has shown he's ready to be a leader and turn Detroit back into a competitive basketball team. Finding "the guy" is a major step in every team's rebuild, and it looks like the Pistons have theirs.