Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham. Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Putting Pistons' Cade Cunningham's historic season in context

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Apr 11, 2025 10:36 AM ET

Cade Cunningham put the finishing touches on a remarkable season with a 36-point outburst in the Pistons' 115-106 win over the Knicks on Thursday.

With two games left, the 23-year-old is officially the youngest player in franchise history to average over 25.0 points per game, a feat that eluded Pistons-bred Hall of Famers such as Isiah Thomas, Grant Hill, Joe Dumars, Bob Lanier and Dave Bing.

Lanier was the previous youngest Piston to average over 25+ per game when he tallied 25.7 points in 1971-72. Bing similarly averaged over 25 as a sophomore but was a year older than Cunningham. As for the other three Hall of Famers, only Hill averaged over 25 in the 1999-2000 season.

Cunnigham's 26.0 PPG is also the sixth-highest tally by a Piston in the franchise's 68-year history, trailing only Jerry Stackhouse (29.8), George Yardley (27.8), Bing (averaged over 27 twice) and Kelly Tripucka (26.5).

Remarkably, Cunningham has etched his name in Pistons' lore in his fourth season, and he threatens to shatter every franchise record in the coming years.

Cade Cunningham this season:

26.0 PPG
6.1 RPG
9.1 APG
47/34/85%

The youngest player in Pistons franchise history to average 25+ PPG in a season. pic.twitter.com/O24lpR53lA
— StatMamba (@StatMamba) April 11, 2025

Unlike those other 25+ PPG Pistons scorers of the past, Cunningham stuffs the sheet like no other.

He is officially the first player in franchise history to average at least 26 points, six rebounds and nine assists. Only Oscar Robertson, James Harden, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Luka Doncic have tallied those numbers through a season.

Cade Cunningham is officially the 7th player ever to average 26 points, 6 rebounds and 9 assists per game in an NBA season. pic.twitter.com/oupMUTrmAS
— Jasper Apollonia (@BladeCunningham) April 11, 2025

Cunningham's high-level production — and his maturation into a superstar — is yielding success. The Pistons (44-36) have won more games than the previous two seasons combined. They threaten to be a force in their return to the playoffs after a six-year absence, with some picking them to upset the Knicks in a potential first-round series.

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

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