Kendrick Perkins Praises Cade Cunningham’s Rise as “One of the Best Young Leaders” in the NBA

Cade Cunningham is officially having the kind of season Detroit fans have been waiting for. The former No. 1 pick is putting up 24 PPG and has the Pistons as the top team in the Eastern Conference. His game is growing more confident. He’s more in control, and he’s way more comfortable picking his spots.

For Detroit, that’s a massive development. The franchise has been starved of a true contending team since 2004. Sure, Cade brought the Pistons to the playoffs last year, but they were knocked by the Knicks in the first round. That has only fueled them more. Cunningham has owned the Knicks this year, and they look like the team to beat in the East.

One person who is incredibly taken by the 24-year-old superstar’s game is Kendrick Perkins. Big Perk shared heavy praise for the Cade during the latest NBA on ESPN broadcast. Why does KP like him? Because he understands the importance of making the players around him better.

“They got one of the best young leaders in the game, Cade Cunningham. When I think about young leaders, I think about what is he doing to make guys around him better,” stated Big Perk. It’s a valid point. KP later mentioned how there would be games he assumed Cunningham was going to go off. Instead, he ended up with double-digit assists from sharing the rock.

And that’s a player that can carry a dynasty for years. He’s not just hunting for stats or for glory. There have been games where Cade has sat and Detroit still functioned like a powerhouse. That’s because the rest of the roster, guys like Tobias Harris, Javonte Green, and Duncan Robinson, are playing with a confidence that wasn’t there before.

“He understands the assignment. The assignment is, ‘I can go get mine. But in order for me to get to where we are trying to go, where I’m trying to go to get this team to the promised land, I need the others.’ That’s the reason why he and Jalen Duren is one of the best pick-and-roll combos in the game today,” added Big Perk.

The scary part? Cade is still only 24, which means this probably isn’t even the finished product. What separates him right now isn’t just the stat line, it’s the control. The way he can slow a playoff-style game down, hunt a mismatch, or flip the switch and let someone else cook.

Detroit isn’t just winning off talent. They’re winning off identity. And that usually starts with your lead guard. If this keeps trending upward, the rest of the East might have to start preparing for something bigger than a breakout season. They might be watching the early stages of a long-term problem.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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