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Former NBA star Carmelo Anthony recently praised Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons for their growth this season during an episode of his podcast, 7PM in Brooklyn.
“I think we seeing the development of Cade Cunningham,” Anthony said. “The patience of like going through the process. He’s starting to find his pace, find his flow, find his speed, his confidence, he’s shooting the ball. He doing s*** that's like ‘I'm here,' and as a result, they winning.”
Anthony highlighted Cunningham’s leadership and how it has helped the Pistons establish an identity on the court.
“Now Detroit got somebody who every night you[‘re] like ‘yo, listen we got Cade now who’s going to lead us tonight and now all we gotta do is come and do what we do,’” Anthony said. “Detroit play physical. I just think they [are] finding their flow and Cade is in the driver seat.”
“He [Cade Cunningham] doing s*** that's like ‘I'm here,' and as a result, they winning.”
Carmelo Anthony had high praise for Cade Cunnigham and the Pistons 🙏🏽
(via @7PMinBrooklyn)
pic.twitter.com/OjsXonQBW0— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 1, 2025
Former NBA forward Rudy Gay also weighed in on Cunningham’s progress, emphasizing his comfort level in the league.
“It finally looks like he comfortable out there,” Gay said. “The people they compare him to kind of took them a minute to get to that part too.”
Gay pointed out that Cunningham’s game draws comparisons to some of the NBA’s top playmakers.
“They say he could be like James [Harden] or Luka… but with those guys, they [are] not the fastest people but they figure it out how to get they[‘re] shots off, be crafty so I think he’s finally starting to figure it out,” Gay said. “He’s nice – I always thought he was good like you said, he’s been good for a long time but he’s starting to figure out that it’s different up here.”
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Cade Cunningham’s breakout season leads Pistons’ resurgence after years of struggles
Cunningham, now in his fourth NBA season at 23 years old, is putting together the best campaign of his career. He is averaging career highs with 25.4 points, 9.4 assists, 6.2 rebounds, and one steal per game while shooting 45.7% from the field and 36.1% from three-point range through 55 contests. His breakout season earned him his first NBA All-Star selection, marking the Pistons’ first All-Star since Blake Griffin in 2019.
Beyond his individual success, Cunningham has helped lead Detroit to a 33-27 record, currently placing them sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. The Pistons recently put together their longest winning streak since 2008, an eight-game run that ended with a 134-119 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Friday night.
The turnaround has been significant for a franchise that has struggled in recent years. Detroit finished last season with a league-worst 14-68 record and went 17-65 in 2022-23. With Cunningham at the helm, the Pistons have already doubled their win total from the previous campaign and are in position to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2019.
Detroit will look to get back on track when they face the Brooklyn Nets (21-38) on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
