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Last season, the Detroit Pistons became one of the NBA's surprise teams by going 44-38 and reaching the playoffs for only the third time since 2009. Right now, they have the second-best record in the league and are in first place in the Eastern Conference with a 9-2 record, even though they haven't been at full strength. Cade Cunningham, who had a breakout 2024-25 campaign, has been leading the way with averages of 27.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.4 rebounds a game. On Monday, the Pistons were in trouble when they fell behind to the moribund Washington Wizards by 13 points in the fourth quarter and trailed 120-112 with 2:25 left in the period. But Cunningham led a comeback that resulted in a 137-135 overtime victory. Although he shot just 14-of-45 from the field, he scored 46 points, to go along with 12 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals. That made him the only player other than Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan to post at least 40 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists and five steals in a single game, per Yahoo Sports. Read more: Clippers’ Kawhi Leonard Hit With Unfortunate Injury Update Cunningham was hailed for his triple-threat abilities when he came into the NBA as the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft. It took him a few years to start to tap into his potential, but last season, it all started to come together for him. He put up 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists a game while shooting 46.9% from the field and 35.6% from 3-point range, and he was named to the All-Star team for the first time. He racked up nine triple-doubles, which was tied for the fifth-most in the league. Detroit is currently without forward Tobias Harris, who is dealing with a high ankle sprain, and guard Marcus Sasser, who has a hip injury. In addition, sharpshooting guard Jaden Ivey, who averaged 17.6 points a game last season before suffering a broken fibula, has yet to play this season due to a knee injury he suffered during the preseason. One has to wonder how much better Detroit will be once those three players return. Even without them, the team ranks fourth in defensive rating and fast-break points per game and is sixth in net rating. Read more: Mitchell Robinson Receives Major Prediction on Knicks Future People have been talking about young superstars such as Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Anthony Edwards being the future faces of the NBA. Pretty soon, people will have to include Cunningham in that discussion.
