Detroit Pistons guard lands on top 25 list of young NBA stars

The Detroit Pistons have one of the youngest rosters in the NBA and their starting point guard was recently recognized as the face of the next generation of star basketball players.

Accordingly The wrestlers In the latest rankings of the 25 best players age 25 and under, Cade Cunningham is ranked 14th on the list, sandwiched between Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young and Toronto Raptors forward Scottie Barnes.

Even though the Pistons have been one of the league's worst teams in recent seasons, Cunningham deserves credit for being a bright spot on a struggling roster.

“The Pistons have had one of the worst rebuilds in recent memory, so you could easily argue that he will be better if a reasonable roster is built around him. Cunningham carried an absurd load – the fourth-most pick-and-rolls per game in the NBA with 33.1 percent usage – on a roster that lacks additional playmakers and made the fewest 3s per game in the entire league. I've seen football riots with better space distribution than the Pistons' own-half attacking strategy.”

Not every high-profile lottery win lands on the right side of boom-or-bust territory. When Cunningham entered the NBA as the No. 1 pick after his freshman season at Oklahoma State, there was a lot of pressure on his shoulders to live up to the offseason hype.

Three years later, he's giving the Pistons hope that he can be the face of the franchise for years to come. It's going to take a lot of help around Cunningham to steer the Detroit franchise in a more positive direction.

As young and promising as some of the Pistons' core players are, it's notable that Cunningham is the only one on this list. Since the 2020 NBA Draft, the Pistons have had four players selected in the top ten. Three of them remain on the roster (Cunningham, Jaden Ivey and Ausar Thompson), while Killian Hayes cleared waivers back in February.