“I feel like I am the best rookie”: Cade Cunningham exudes confidence while talking about his chances of winning the 2022 Rookie of the Year honors

The 2021 Draft Class is slowly turning into one of the brightest classes in recent history. And according to Cade Cunningham, he is the best of the lot.

Cade Cunningham was an extremely hyped prospect entering the draft. And taking a chance on the college phenom was the Detroit Pistons, using their #1 pick to draft the 6-foot-6 guard. After being called a “bust” for his subpar performances in the initial games of his career, Cade managed to find his rhythm and has been playing like the talented youngster he was projected to be.

Cunningham has been averaging a solid 15.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game, ranked #2 in the rookie ladder, and according to Second Spectrum Data, been putting up more isolation points per game than established stars like Stephen Curry, Luka Doncic, and Trae Young.

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The 20-year-old has been recognized as one of the most exceptional rookies by several fellow stars of the league. And recently, Cade revealed how he thought he was the best player of the 2021 draft class.

“Winning the Rookie of the Year is definitely a goal of mine”: Cade Cunningham

In a recent interview with Bleacher Report’s Jason Dumas, Cade spoke about his rookie year and his aspirations of winning the ROTY.

Dumas: How has your rookie year been? I know it’s a marathon.

Cade: “It’s been a lot of fun. Yes, there are ups and downs in this journey for real, but I’m having fun playing basketball, traveling all over the place. It’s been a lot of fun for me. So I’m living the dream.”

Dumas: Do things like Rookie of the Year matter to you? Is that a goal of yours?

Cade: “It’s definitely a goal of mine. I feel like I am the best rookie. So winning that award would validate that to me and the world, but at the end of the day when I go and play a basketball game, I’m not thinking of Rookie of the Year trophies or anything like that. But it would be great to have when the time comes.”

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The Pistons are currently 14th in the East with the 2nd-worst record in the league. Now that Cade has managed to get into his groove, it’s about time he leads the team to wins.