After spending five full seasons with the Mavericks and witnessing Luka Doncic’s rise from an exciting prospect to one of the best players in the NBA, Tim Hardaway Jr. believes the Slovenian sensation is incomparable. However, the veteran believes his new Pistons teammate Cade Cunningham has shades of the superstar guard.
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During the Pistons’ Media Day, Hardaway was asked if he saw similarities between the Mavericks superstar and the young guard. The 32-year-old lauded his former teammate before claiming that there are noticeably indistinguishable traits between the two. He said,
“There’s only one Luka Doncic but I definitely see a little bit in Cade for sure. The height, how he strong he is with the ball, playing against him playing pickup, here and there. Him coming off the ball screens, the pasing. He is not Luka, but he is damn near close.”
Tim Hardaway Jr says “there’s only one Luka Doncic” but that Cade Cunningham “could be pretty damn close”.
— Ku (@KuKhahil) September 30, 2024
Hardaway’s assessment is pretty apt. Doncic is listed at 6-foot-7 and weighs around 230 lbs, while Cunningham is 6-foot-6 and is nearly as heavy as the Mavericks guard. Both players are stellar dribblers and have an equally effective off-the-ball repertoire. They are also terrific passers and always look to find teammates with open looks at the basket.
Hardaway isn’t the only Pistons player who sees similarities between the two. After a game between Detroit and Dallas in the 2021-22 season, Cunningham noted how his offensive playstyle is identical to Doncic in some ways. During the post-game conference, he said,
“I have always heard the comparisons. Maybe just because we both like to take our time with things, we’re both not just outrunning guys and things like that.”
While there’s enough to draw parallels between the two, they operate at completely different levels.
Cade Cunningham’s career so far compared to Luka Doncic
Cunningham has plenty of catching up to do to be as revered as Doncic. The Slovenian has been a perennial All-Star since his sophomore season while Cunningham has yet to earn a nod in his three-year career. The Mavericks superstar averaged over 20 points per game right from his rookie year, whereas the Pistons guard had his first such season during his third year in the league.
Doncic is also a prolific rebounder. He has averaged over eight rebounds for five straight seasons and boasts a career average of 8.7 boards per game. On the flip side, Cunningham’s career-high in rebounds in a season is 6.2 per game. The Pistons guard also lags in efficiency despite averaging three fewer shots per game. Doncic has banked 47% of his career field-goal attempts whereas Cunningham is around 43%.
The Slovenian sensation and the Pistons star might be stylistically similar, but the level at which they operate is completely different.
