Evolving again? The preseason efficiency is extremely high. Cunningham has a great impact in the new season.

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Li Hui

Cade Cunningham is heading towards the All-NBA First Team.

Last season, Cunningham had the best performance of his career. In his fourth season after being selected as the No. 1 pick, he finally broke out. He played 70 games in the regular season, averaging 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 9.1 assists and 1.0 steals per game, shooting 46.9% from the field, 35.6% from three-point range, and made 2.1 three-pointers every night. More importantly, he finally led the Pistons to achieve a record breakthrough. The Detroit team advanced to the playoffs with a sixth-place record in the regular season. Facing the Knicks in the playoffs, Cunningham led the team to two wins. This is undoubtedly an excellent enough report card.

Cunningham's outstanding performance allowed him to be selected as an All-Star last season and ranked in the third team of the All-NBA Team. This was his first experience in his career. However, for such a No. 1 pick who initially had great expectations placed on him, this is undoubtedly not the end of Cunningham.

After another summer of continuous hard work, Cunningham is becoming even better. In the first two games of the preseason, Cunningham's performance was perfect. In less than 19 points per game, he averaged 23 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, and his shooting percentage was as high as 64%. In today's game against the Bucks, Cunningham scored 26 points in just half of the game. With the successful experience of last season, Cunningham has become more confident now, and he can easily make difficult layups after various breakthroughs. In the Pistons' tactical system, Cunningham is the team's irreplaceable offensive core. He is in charge of the team's offensive initiation. It can be said that Cunningham is the best ball-handling core among the new generation of NBA players since Luka Doncic.

In the new season, due to injuries and personnel losses suffered by the Celtics and Pacers, the competition in the Eastern Conference has become more open. The Pistons have performed well last season, and they are undoubtedly strong contenders for the Eastern Conference championship in the new season. Especially with Cunningham continuing to evolve, the Pistons have more possibilities.

Cunningham's growth directly determines the upper limit of the Pistons. In the new season, the 2021 No. 1 pick is expected to further improve at the data level. Once he leads the Pistons to the top three in the Eastern Conference, Cunningham's first All-NBA first team in his career will also be expected. In addition, Cunningham also has a great chance to lead the Pistons to a long-lost series victory. The 24-year-old star is fulfilling his expectations step by step. He undoubtedly has a very bright future.