Last season, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham was considered one of the best players under 25, according to ESPN. The former No. 1 overall pick was right outside of the top five, coming in at No. 6.
Statistically, Cunningham is having a better season so far, and his team has made significant strides. Still, ESPN dropped the fourth-year veteran beyond the top ten.
How far did Cade fall?
Coming in at No. 13, is the 23-year-old Cunningham. While the drop makes it seem as if Cunningham took a step back, he was still showered with compliments about his game, specifically pointing out his triple-double success through the first two months of action.
However, there’s room for improvement.
ESPN’s top 25 players under 25:
1. Victor Wembanyama
2. Anthony Edwards
3. Paolo Banchero
4. Franz Wagner
5. Chet Holmgren
6. Tyrese Haliburton
7. Tyrese Maxey
8. Evan Mobley
9. Jalen Williams
10. Alperen Sengun
11. Scottie Barnes
12. LaMelo Ball
13. Cade Cunningham… pic.twitter.com/I8xufDy2KO— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 2, 2024
“One area of improvement for Cunningham is taking better care of the basketball,” writes ESPN’s Bobby Marks. “He currently ranks first in turnovers at 4.6 per game and has had nine games with at least five turnovers.”
Cunningham trails LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Williams, Evan Mobley, Tyrese Maxey, Tyrese Haliburton, Chet Holmgren, Franz Wagner, Paolo Banchero, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama.
Not everybody believes in Cunningham’s status as the 13th-best player under 25. In fact, three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas doesn’t believe there are more than four players under 25 who are better than Cunningham.
“Cade is sitting at 13?!” Arenas said in disbelief. “Cade should be top ten. Top five? Wemby, Edwards, Banchero, Cade, Green.”
Gil’s Arena Reacts To Cade’s ESPN Ranking For Players Under 25 #DetroitBasketball pic.twitter.com/2yi6tHvZhr
— Downtown Deuce (@DowntownDeuce) December 4, 2024
The rest of the panel agreed with the sentiment.
Turnover concerns for Cunningham are fair. This season, he’s averaging more turnovers than ever, losing control of the ball 4.8 times per game. His career average is 3.7 turnovers per game. According to Cleaning the Glass, Cunningham turned the ball over at a 16 percent rate through his first 20 games of the season. He ranks in the 25th percentile in that category.
Looking past the turnover issues, Cunningham is nearly averaging a triple-double through the first stretch of the season. In 20 games, he produced an average of 24 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds per game. He’s making 45 percent of his shots and 38 percent of his threes. Both are career-highs.
