Cade Cunningham has earned his stripes this season, presenting a strong case for himself to be an All-Star starter. And who better to vouch for the 23-year-old than his coach J. B. Bickerstaff? The Pistons’ head coach was recently on the Run It Back show where he stated that Cunningham deserves to be a starter on the All-Star team.
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When asked if there’s a plan at work to ensure that the Pistons point guard gets the honor he deserves, Bickerstaff said that the organization is “trying to get it done.”
As for his assessment of the Pistons star and his performance this season, Bickerstaff believes that he deserves to be in the starting lineup. “I’m hard-pressed to find a guard in all the NBA that’s playing better than Cade,” Bickerstaff said. Not to knock anyone off to praise his player, but the Pistons HC really doesn’t see a competition in sight for Cunningham.
He detailed how the 23-year-old is always up for any challenge if it helps his team by referring to the game against the Knicks. Bickerstaff said, “The other night, he was guarding Jalen Brunson. He doesn’t get off nights on either end of the floor.” The Pistons HC also praised the point guard for being the key to the team’s offensive success and being clinical in crunch moments to finish the game.
Cade Cunningham has intangibles like James Harden and deserves to be an All-Star starter 🤩
"No doubt about it, I'm hard pressed to find a guard in all the NBA that's playing better than Cade."
📺 https://t.co/LSXiyW7Oec@MichelleDBeadle | @TeamLou23 | @ChandlerParsons pic.twitter.com/U87X0bn5LQ
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 15, 2025
This has been a brilliant season so far for Cunningham. In 36 games, he is averaging 24.5 points, 9.4 assists, and 6.6 rebounds while shooting 46% from the field. “It’s just difficult for me to find anybody out there that’s playing better than Cade right now,” Bickerstaff added. He even compared the 23-year-old to prime James Harden.
J. B. Bickerstaff sees similarities between James Harden and Cade Cunningham
Throughout the NBA’s history, there haven’t been many players as good as James Harden in his prime. The Beard dominated the league in the second half of the 2010s decade. Bickerstaff believes that Cunningham has several elements of Harden’s game in him which makes him an even better player.
He said, “Their ability to get to their spots, to be a big guard…James was physical and he could get to his spots and that’s what it comes down to.” Bickerstaff claimed that at just 23 years of age, Cunningham has mastered his game to be in the conversation alongside the most elite players.
While being compared to a prime Harden is the highest of honors for an offensively oriented guard, he certainly does have a large hill to climb if he were to live up to those comparisons.
From finishing last season at the bottom of the Eastern Conference to being in playoff contention this season, the Pistons have taken a massive leap. They are currently eighth in the East with a 21-19 record and it has been made possible by Cunningham’s relentless pursuit of making his team better on each outing.
