Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham continued his push for his first All-Star Game nod on Monday in Detroit’s 118-115 win over the Portland Trail Blazers.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NBA Draft had 32 points on 11-of-23 shooting, including 4-of-10 from deep, nine assists, six rebounds and two steals as the Pistons (18-18, seventh in Eastern Conference) reached .500 in January for the first time since 2018. (h/t StatMuse)
Cunningham had threes from the same spot on the court on consecutive third-quarter possessions to turn a 76-72 deficit into a 78-78 tie.
Late in the fourth of a tied game, 106-106, Cunningham found small forward Tim Hardaway Jr. on a fast break for three.
With under a minute remaining, he drew Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton on to him following a drive to the basket, and while his shot bounced off the rim, Pistons center Jalen Duren cleaned up the miss with a slam dunk for a four-point lead, 116-112.
In 32 games this season, Cunningham is averaging a career-high 24.4 points, 9.4 assists and 6.6 rebounds per game.
Per Stathead, he’s one of two players to average at least 24 points, nine assists and six rebounds per game. The other is three-time MVP and Western Conference-leading All-Star Game fan vote-getter Nikola Jokic.
The NBA released the first update to the ASG fan vote on Jan. 2, and Cunningham ranked sixth among guards, receiving 247,046 votes.
Per NBA Communications, “Fans account for 50% of the vote to decide All-Star starters,” with NBA players and media members splitting the other 50 percent.
It might take Cunningham’s peers to get him into his first All-Star Game, scheduled for Feb. 16 at the Chase Center. Regardless of how Cunningham gets there, his first half of the 2024-25 season can’t go unnoticed.
