Isaiah Stewart heard the encouraging clapping, or rather the challenge, as he stood on an island on the perimeter guarding Orlando’s Jalen Suggs.
The noise was coming from his teammate, Cade Cunningham, who overheard Magic coach Jamahl Mosley telling his players to isolate the big man — that Stewart had “slow feet” — on the final possession of the first half of their matchup on Jan. 1. Cunningham knew the comment would enrage Stewart, and decided to add fuel to the fire.
Challenge accepted.
Eight seconds of nonstop clapping, eight seconds of “that’s what we want” from Cunningham, became the battery in Stewart’s back to help him get the stop before the buzzer. The 6-foot-8 center forced Suggs to miss a short pull-up jumper, and prevented the Magic from gaining any ground heading into halftime.
After the play, Stewart was embraced by his point guard, the former No. 1 pick, who has guided the Detroit Pistons to a 19-18 record after a slow start.
It was a snapshot of a star player, Cunningham, who has been given his own challenge: to lead with his play, his words, the warmth of his fire.
And it was a stark contrast to a year ago when the league was laughing at the Pistons, who were mired in a 28-game losing streak that had many questioning not only the franchise direction but Cunningham’s worthiness as a franchise player.
“While we were going through that, the rest of the league was making fun of us, disrespecting us,” Stewart told Yahoo Sports. “And, we’re men at the end of the day, we don’t tolerate that.”
Last year was, in essence, Cunningham’s second season; his true second year was cut short after just 12 games, missing the rest of the 2022-23 campaign following shin surgery on his left leg. Many nights, if not all of them in ’23-24, Cunningham had to take a long, lonely walk down a hallway during the NBA record-tying skid, gather himself and speak clearly for a franchise going through a struggle of proportions it had never experienced.
Many nights he played well or well enough to win, but it didn’t matter. Oftentimes he would be asked, “Why you?” and he would almost respond incredulously, “Who else but me?”
“You don’t get that out of many old guys, right? Like, there’s not many people in this league that are willing to accept responsibility for the total right for the whole group,” Pistons head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, who is in his first season in Detroit, told Yahoo Sports. “You know, you deal with a lot of people now, the easiest thing to do is either shy away from it or put it on somebody else. And I think that speaks to his courage.”
The way the city carries itself, the grit, all that stuff, it hits home for me. It’s been a lot of tough times, a lot of bad basketball. I want to be a part of changing that.Cade Cunningham
Cunningham, albeit at a tender age of 23, seems to understand responsibility on the floor as much as he takes accountability off it. It’s almost like he’s been bred to lead.
“(It’s) something that comes with being, you know, ‘the guy,’” Cunningham told Yahoo Sports recently. “Everybody calls me ‘the guy.’ It’s a lot of responsibility. It’s a lot of … I mean, people would call it pressure, but, you know, I have to deliver, and I haven’t done that to the level that I wanted to.”
That could’ve broken Cunningham, as that type of losing has done across many athletes across the spectrum. But it has only seemed to fortify his desire to deliver in Detroit, for a franchise begging for a face and a voice.
“The way the city received me,” Cunningham said. “The support, the way the city carries itself, the grit, all that stuff, it hits home for me. Knowing that, it’s been a lot of tough times, a lot of bad basketball.
“I want to be a part of changing that.”
The calamity of last season cost general manager Troy Weaver and head coach Monty Williams their jobs, and when Trajan Langdon was brought in as president of basketball operations, he was tasked with handling Cunningham’s rookie extension.
Sure, Cunningham could influence winning, but could he drive it? The roster wasn’t optimized for anyone to power it to success, so even as Cunningham signed his no-brainer max extension, Langdon issued a direct challenge to the star he was inheriting: Embrace the responsibility of leadership and be better on the defensive end.
Challenge accepted.
Against Atlanta in early November, Cunningham put everyone on notice: Things done changed.
With 8.5 seconds left in the game, Cunningham hit a running left-hander over Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson, two of the league’s best defenders. Then with the Pistons leading by one, he read Trae Young’s penetration and slid over to block Onyeka Okongwu’s shot at the buzzer — one of Cunningham’s league-high six blocks during “crunch time,” as defined by the NBA.
You see the strength of a person when they go through adversity. He’s got this fuel and this fire.Trajan Langdon
“When you watch film of him the last few years, you know he’s a leader,” Langdon told Yahoo Sports. “To his credit, he’s played at a super high level on the court. And he’s been great with his teammates. Leading is hard. You can talk it, but you gotta back it up.
“Off the floor he’s done the extra work. He’s had the difficult conversations, the professional conversations with me, the coaches, medical. He’s held himself accountable.”
Leadership has no one defined way. For some, it’s establishing a pecking order for everyone to follow. For others, it’s pouring life into those around you, reading the room. Cunningham was learning to do this while still growing into his own skin.
“You see the strength of a person when they go through adversity,” Langdon said. “He’s got this fuel and this fire. He’s been through a lot of adversity in his few years with the injury. It’s a lot, mentally, emotionally. And then last year. Coming back, how he did this summer to prepare for the season, it shows what type of resilient young man he is. He deserves to be mentioned with the top players in the league.”
Cunningham, as the undisputed catalyst to a Pistons team on the rise, is almost certain to be selected in next month’s All-Star Game and a candidate for All-NBA honors.
He’s touching team records only reached by two men, Isiah Thomas and Grant Hill.
His six triple-doubles this season trail only LeBron James’ eight and Nikola Jokić’s 14. He’s currently on the doorstep of being the 18th player in NBA history to average 23 points, nine assists and seven rebounds; the other 17 instances were All-Stars, a who’s who of greats — Oscar Robertson, James, Jokić, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Luka Dončić, etc.
Cunningham hasn’t shied away from his ambitions. His demeanor is soft-spoken and low-key, but the clarity belies his youth. He wants to win in Detroit.
The Pistons, NBA royalty with their championships, defined play and period of contention from previous decades, haven’t won a playoff game since May 26, 2008 — Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Boston Celtics. It was the back end of a championship run guided by Chauncey Billups, a man who Cunningham shares a birthday with — as Cunningham will point out.
There are other similarities between the two. Teammates refer to Billups as “Broadway,” because he coolly strolls into whatever room he’s in, and people gravitate to him. On the floor, Cunningham doesn’t use blinding athleticism as much as refined skills and a cunning sense of angles. You inhale, he bursts. You relax, he pulls up.
“I would watch his clips. To see that team, the history of the organization,” Cunningham said. “I would love to have my own chapter.”
It’s been 22 years since the Pistons’ last true resurgence, and Cunningham being drafted No. 1 in 2021 could be the start of another one — even if there have been some fits and bursts.
Bickerstaff remembers a game a few weeks ago where second-year swingman Ausar Thompson sat in the corner, with Cunningham on the wing with the ball. Cunningham swung it to Thompson, a 20 percent shooter from 3.
“Never hesitated once. And then Ausar made one,” Bickerstaff said. “In that moment, he was showing Ausar, ‘I believe in you.’ And that lifts everyone up, makes everyone better. It wasn’t a ‘let me think about it.’ It was the right thing to do.
“And I thought, that’s the type of stuff, as a leader, I’ve been impressed with the most.”
Cunningham’s line that night: 24 points, 11 assists, six rebounds and two steals in a 130-106 win over the team that made the East finals last spring, the Indiana Pacers.
“I’ve always really worked at it, but I felt I was always good at seeing things from other people’s perspective. I’ve been the guy that wasn’t ‘the guy’ on the team,” Cunningham said. “I would watch how the best player on our team would treat others and carry themselves. I would take notes. I wanted him to know, I’m gonna keep on (passing) and you better keep on shooting.
“That’s what we need in the long run, and I do want you to know: I do believe in you.”
Making the right play doesn’t mean he shrinks from the moment, when stardom is required.
On Saturday, Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards was hitting everything deep, on his way to a career-high scoring night. Cunningham was on the other side, picking away, being impactful in myriad ways as opposed to matching Edwards shot for shot.
He gave the game what it needed, a 40-point, nine-assist night that had Edwards seeking him out after the buzzer.
It’s those performances that have many around the league taking notice. Even some inside the organization are surprised at how quickly the team has progressed, with new additions Malik Beasley, Tobias Harris and Tim Hardaway Jr. doing more than adding competence on the floor.
“I’ve never tried to impose myself on anybody, like ‘I’m your leader.’ I’m not trying to force it,” Cunningham said. “I’m gonna be myself. I want the best for everybody in here, the best for my teammates. I think guys respect that. I think they respect my talent.”
The natural order sets itself in the locker room, and will evolve as the roster does.
“I’m not walking in like, I’m the lion,” Cunningham said, with a smile. “If you think you’re the lion, come in and challenge me, and we’ll figure it out.”
The temptation is to fantasize about adding to the roster this season. But sources say it’s highly unlikely; the franchise prefers to stick to its long-term vision. Cunningham is the young star others want to play with and play for.
“With Cade there’s a natural vibe, where people want to be around him,” Bickerstaff said. “Because he does things that make people feel comfortable around him and he allows people to be whoever they are around him. He’s not one of those guys who has to make you feel lesser so he can be the guy.”
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Perhaps it’s mere coincidence or a full-circle moment, the Pistons playing against the Portland Trail Blazers this past Monday. A year ago against Portland, they held an 18-point lead before the half in the fifth game of the season, and the vibes were high — but it soon dissipated. Portland roared back for a 110-101 win, dropping the Pistons to 2-3, and it was the second loss in that miserable streak.
On Monday, though, it was Cunningham’s team flexing muscle following a 21-point deficit, as he hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the third to bring the game to a manageable distance. The Pistons then methodically, maturely, walked Portland down to climb to .500.
On the other side, it was Billups, the franchise legend, who praised Cunningham.
“He’s an All-Star, there’s no question he’s been amazing,” Billups said. “The game has slowed down for him, and when I say that, I always mean in the mind.”
That .500 mark means something after all the losing, winning seven of eight and getting to .500 for the first time this late in the season since 2018-19. That squad was barely holding on, built for an eighth seed and not much else around Blake Griffin.
This team has much more upside, something more sustainable and optimistic. You can see the Pistons doing things through the course of a game, putting Cunningham in positions he’ll have to be comfortable in later in his career, when they’re a true contender.
Catching it at the elbow, or the nail, or the post. It’s not quite a test, but it’s a trial.
“We are in development mode,” Bickerstaff said. “And his development is a closer, right? Like he’s the guy who, at the end of the game, the ball is going to be in his hands. So through the course of all of this stuff, and this is part of my learning process, also, to see where he is comfortable.”
He’s growing in that comfort zone, in making every spot his. The NBA is usually slow to accept the new kid, but Cunningham seems to be carving out more space, month by month. He has accepted the challenge, embraced the responsibility.
“It’s empowering to me that (Bickerstaff) asks me to be that,” Cunningham said. “I want to reward them for it, every time.”
“I’m not shy of those moments,” he added. “I’m not shy.”
