The Detroit Pistons have had a strong season thus far thanks to the stellar play of one Cade Cunningham. But the two-time NBA All-Star guard could be getting some more help soon in the form of Carmelo Anthony.
During Pistons media day, Cunningham revealed that he had spoken with the Hall-of-Famer on potentially working out together.
“Me and Melo, we had talked a couple times,” Cunningham said back in September 2025. “We set up a couple workouts. One in Vegas and one in New York, but we just haven't been able to link up. Our schedules were mixed up… I'm just trying to find ways to be the best version of myself this season and having respect from legends like that means a lot of as far as confidence and everything. I just want to continue to grow and get better.”
Carmelo Anthony, who has since joined NBC Sports as their analyst, recently spoke about Cunningham's rise on a call with media for the 2026 NBA All-Star Game.
“I love it,” Anthony exclaimed. “I’ve been a fan and have been watching Cade since high school. I’ve watched his growth, development, and maturity over the past four or five years. We’ve been in contact. He reached out to get in the gym and wanted to work on certain aspects of his game. I saw that as a sign of maturity, with him wanting to slow the game down and wanting to pick his spots. He wants to get to his spots where he can be aggressive and efficient and take advantage of the mismatches. We’ve been talking, watching film and talking film. I’m that mentor for him and providing insight.”
This isn't the first time Carmelo Anthony has spoken highly of the Detroit Pistons star. Back in March 2025, the former Nuggets and Knicks star highlighted Cade Cunningham on 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.”
Cade Cunningham is having another strong season for the Pistons, averaging 25.3 points, 5.6 rebounds, 9.6 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 46.2 percent from the field and 33 percent from three. In 47 appearances this season, Cunningham is averaging career highs in assists, steals, blocks, and two-point field goal percentage.
Cunningham has led the Pistons to the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best record in the NBA at 40-13.
The Pistons open up their post-All-Star break schedule with a two game road trip against the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls. Given Carmelo Anthony lives in New York and had previously scheduled a workout with Cunningham in the Big Apple, it'll be interesting to see if the two have an opportunity to get together before Thursday night's game.
