Cade Cunningham, somewhat quietly and away from the scrutiny of the media, has grown into one of the most exciting young players in the NBA. But he has the potential to be even better, and Carmelo Anthony recently laid out what the Pistons star needs to do to reach that elite level.
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Melo acknowledges that Cunningham is already an incredible player, but when it comes to his development, not much has changed since he was selected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 Draft. There’s only one area Anthony can recall Cunningham improving in.
“His feel,” Anthony stated on his podcast 7PM in Brooklyn. “Like, the feel for the game, his flow of the game,” he said, before revealing what he needs to do to fulfill his superstar potential.
“I think what we’re seeing with Cade, he’s starting to understand that he’s wearing the white hat and he’s running that organ. That’s his team. So, with that comes confidence. With that comes responsibility, too,” Melo said.
With this in mind, Melo believes that Cunningham is starting to understand that he’s running the Pistons and that it’s his team. In his rookie season, Cunningham averaged just 5.6 assists per game. But he’s developed into one of the league’s best passers. Last season, he averaged 9.1 per game, and this season he’s averaging 9.6 through seven games.
Also, in 2024–25, the Pistons really came into their own with Cunningham putting up MVP-type numbers. The team was 44-38 and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. But they bowed out in round one to the New York Knicks in one of the hardest-fought series of the entire playoffs.
Anthony then touched on what he would add to Cunningham’s game moving forward to help him avoid another early playoff exit.
“If I’m just working one-on-one with Cade, I would definitely get him into that mid-range,” Melo said. “He’s a big guard, he’s a tall, strong guard. You can’t speed him up; he’s got his own pace. So, you could teach him a lot. And he has the foundation of good footwork.”
As mentioned, the mid-range shot has been almost left for dead by modern-day NBA analytics. Many argue that players should simply take a few steps back and hoist up a three instead. But Anthony knows better than anyone that a deadly mid-range game can break an opponent’s will to win.
What’s interesting is that Cunningham is already a solid mid-range shooter, hitting about 51% of his shots from 17 feet last season. However, he doesn’t take a high volume of attempts from that range. Cade also struggles from certain mid-range spots, such as the right baseline, where he shot just 34% during the 2024–25 season.
If Cunningham could develop this shot a bit more, it could become a major weapon in his arsenal. Not to mention, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just proved that one can win a championship through an elite mid-range game. But another thing Cunningham will need to work on to get to that level is his finishing at the rim.
We’ll see if Anthony and Cunningham can get in the lab together one day so that the Hall of Famer can help out the young sensation. Surely, the Pistons man would accept a workout invitation. And it would be interesting to see if it could pay off down the road.
