The NBA Draft is a big event in the sports world.
A team’s future can change all in one night.
The team with the first pick has the biggest advantage.
They get to dictate their future first.
Also, they get to select the best prospect in the draft heading in.
This year the first pick is held by the Detroit Pistons.
The Pistons have been a team stuck in the bottom of the NBA.
Now with the first pick, they can take the best prospect this year.
That prospect is Cade Cunningham.
Cunningham is the player that every team in the lottery was hoping to get.
However, the Pistons were the winners and now have Cunningham in their sight.
Cade Cunningham, widely expected to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick, will only be visiting the Detroit Pistons prior to the NBA Draft pic.twitter.com/yDsJQe6rCH
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) June 23, 2021
Cunningham is a great prospect and the furthest thing from overrated.
3. He Can Play Multiple Positions
An underrated attribute to have in today’s NBA is the ability to play multiple positions on both sides of the game.
For instance, Stephen Curry is great with the ball in his hand, or going around screens.
Jrue Holiday can try and hold his own against a Kevin Durant, but go and guard Trae Young.
Cunningham will be one of those players.
He is great with the ball in his hand as the primary ball-handler for a team.
However, he can easily play off the ball and shoot at a high level.
His only year at Oklahoma State saw him shoot 40 percent from three.
Cunningham is also 6-foot-8 as well.
He can play up to three positions on offense and defense.
His versatility will definitely come in handy in the league.
2. He Plays Defense
A knock on a lot of young players that enter the league is their lack of defense.
Outside of big men, we usually do not talk about defense being the strength for a prospect.
The talks of Cunningham’s defense have not been talked about either, but that is a mistake.
He is actually a very good defender.
His effort is there to go along with his long frame.
One minute of Cade Cunningham playing elite defense pic.twitter.com/Q8B4MZhO6m
— Cade Cunningham Fan Club (@motorcitycade) July 3, 2021
Teams love for their guards to be able to switch on defense now.
Cunningham fits that criteria.
He might not be an elite defender like a Matisse Thybulle, but he can definitely guard and play very good team defense.
1. He Dominated In College
The measuring stick for a top prospect is not only defined by their college success.
Ben Simmons was the first pick in his draft, but did not really want to be there.
Kyrie Irving was also the first pick, but only played 11 games total in college.
However, Cunningham was electric in college and was even a Wooden Award finalist in his lone season.
He averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.
He finished as the Big 12 Player of the Year and was an All-American.
What a season for Cade Cunningham 👏
– Big 12 player of the year and Big 12 freshman of the year (third player to win both)
– Season averages: 20 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.5 APG
– First-team All-American
– Wooden Award finalist
– Projected No. 1 pick pic.twitter.com/niodr8cs2w— ESPN (@espn) March 22, 2021
Cunningham even led Oklahoma State to the tournament.
The man was not afraid of the bright lights and took over the college world as a freshman.
There is no doubt that he is the top prospect and should be a star in the NBA.
Leave a Reply