The “Detroit vs. Everybody” moniker was popularized in 2012 by an apparel brand in the city. The way the Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham looks at it now, it’s him and Detroit versus Everybody.
In his first three seasons, Cunningham was on a Pistons team that endured 192 losses, including an NBA record-tying 28-game losing streak. He played with a rotating group of teammates instructed by three different head coaches. Never once, however, did the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA draft ask out. And now, with his All-Star caliber play, perseverance and leadership, Cunningham is finally enjoying success with the Pistons and truly appreciating every positive step.
“There is a different satisfaction knowing that you worked for something,” Cunningham recently told Andscape. “So, I wouldn’t want to do it with a different city than Detroit. I think they deserve to have a winning team. I want to be a part of that.”
Cunningham and the Pistons can get to .500 (18-18) by defeating the Portland Trail Blazers at home tonight. It’s a big deal for Cunningham and the rising Pistons. The Pistons have not had a .500 record after five games in any of Cunningham’s four seasons.
For Cunningham and the Pistons, there is a feeling that they are finally getting over the daunting NBA mountaintop.
“Last season, we were 2-1 to start the season and then the losing streak started,” Cunningham told Andscape. “That was the only time I was over .500. It would mean a lot to change that. That is one of the next steps in the development of being a championship contender. So, I’m trying to take it step by step. I’m not trying to skip any steps.
“And we got the guys in this locker room to get to .500. We just got to keep working and stay with it.”
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For Cunningham, overcoming challenges is nothing new in his young basketball career.
The Arlington, Texas, native was ranked as No. 2 in the ESPN Class of 2020 behind now-Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green. Cunningham was selected to the McDonald’s All-American Game, Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit in 2020, but all were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. The 2020 Naismith Prep Player of the Year had scholarship offers from blue blood college programs such as Kentucky and North Carolina, but chose Oklahoma State.
Cunningham remained committed to Oklahoma State despite being the school being temporarily slapped with an NCAA tournament ban. He averaged a team-best 20.1 points per game on a team without any other future NBA players. The Cowboys advanced to the second round of the 2020 NCAA tournament before being eliminated.
“I love competition,” Cunningham said. “We didn’t have NCAA tournament chances [initially], but we ended up getting in the tournament. There is just a different satisfaction knowing you worked for something.”
The Pistons drafted Cunningham with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft after winning just 20 games the previous season. Cunningham averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists as a rookie, but finished third in the 2022 NBA Rookie of the Year award balloting. The Pistons only won 23 games during the 2021-22 season. Cunningham had season-ending shin surgery on Dec. 12, 2022, after 12 contests. Detroit only won 12 games during the 2022-23 season and head coach Dwane Casey was fired.
The Pistons entered the 2023-24 season with a new head coach in Monty Williams, who signed a six-year, $78.5 million contract. Under Williams, Cunningham averaged career highs of 22.7 points and 7.5 assists, as well as 4.3 rebounds, last season. Williams, however, was fired after last season after the Pistons won just 14 games and endured a 28-game losing streak.
“Being one of the bottom teams in the league was tough in general,” Cunningham said on his biggest challenges in Detroit. “I would say [the 28-game losing] streak, but losing is always hard. The streak, that’s our past. I feel that it was needed to be appreciative of where we are now.
“At times I blamed myself. At times I was trying to figure out what I could do more of, how else I could help the team win games.”
Last offseason, the Pistons hired Trajan Langdon as president of basketball operations and J.B. Bickerstaff as head coach. The Pistons were a dismal 54-192 during Cunningham’s first three seasons. Cunningham has had 53 different teammates since his arrival in 2021, according to RealGM.com, and Bickerstaff is his third coach in four seasons.
“It’s hard. Different systems. Different playcalling,” said Cunningham about the coaching changes. “Learning all the new names and faces every year, it’s helped my mental toughness and emotional toughness.”
Upon arrival, Bickerstaff told Cunningham that, “we are going to figure out how to make it work.” The veteran head coach also told his young star that he needed him to be a stronger leader and he wanted to work with him.
“When you look back and study it and watch this team and this roster, it goes as far as he takes you,” Bickerstaff told Andscape about Cunningham. “We’ve seen the improvement because of his ability to carry a load on the court, and the psychological part of the game, too. He is amazing with his teammates. He makes his teammates feel 7-feet tall and bulletproof over and over again. They get better when he gets better. That is rare.”
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Detroiters fell in love with Cunningham on draft night when he donned a pair of Cartier C Décor glasses known famously in the city as “Buffs.” And through all the losing and his injuries, Cunningham said that Detroiters and Pistons fans have always stood beside him. Cunningham said he felt at home in Detroit because “there is love” everywhere he goes. Local rappers put his names in their songs. He had murals of his likeness painted in the Detroit metro area.
On July 10, 2024, he showed his love back to Detroit by agreeing to a five-year, $224 million contract extension.
“I was committed the day I got here,” Cunningham said. “The losing streak made me commit even more. I was embraced so well by the city. The way they embraced me and my family was huge for me. Being part of Detroit sports and the culture and understanding everything that comes with Detroit, I do really feel like it is really Detroit versus everybody, and I’ve embraced that.
“I just want to be a part of Detroit winning. I want to have my own chapter in history.”
Bickerstaff says Detroit has a “love affair” with Cunningham because his “attitude fits the city.”
“In the history of Detroit sports, they have a ton of respect for the game, basketball, football, baseball, hockey, whatever it is,” Bickerstaff said. “They care about the people represents their city in a certain way. Cade represents the city with not only with his effort on the floor, but with his mindset, the grit he plays with, the selflessness he plays with.”
The Pistons opened this season 1-5, but have won seven of their past nine games — including road wins over the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Lakers and Sacramento Kings and a victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday.
“We are really trying to get through that breakthrough where now we are trying to be a real competitive team that is winning games more consistently,” Cunningham said. “[Recently], we had our first three-game win streak in years. We’ve been doing better this [season], but we still haven’t been able to put together wins. We’re still working to get that breakthrough.”
Bickerstaff believes that Cunningham’s play and his leadership at just 23 years old are key reasons for Detroit’s budding turnaround.
Keep in mind that Cunningham has had the strength to be the leader of the Pistons despite the addition of such veterans as Tobias Harris, Tim Hardaway, Jr., and Malik Beasley. Making matters more challenging is that starting point guard Jayden Iveyhad season-ending surgery to repair a broken left fibula last week. Bickerstaff noted after the Minnesota win that Cunningham’s “leadership and trust” and well as unselfishness have been key for Detroit.
“I wanted to be that consistent figure leadership wise,” Cunningham said. “Coach (Bickerstaff) has challenged me as well to be the best leader I can be every day. I’ve never really enforced myself on people as the leader. I let it come naturally. People are going to follow who they respect.
“I am myself. I compete. People respect competitiveness, and they respect if you can hoop. I want success for all my teammates. And I try to do what I can to help my teammates out, and I think they respect that.”
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With the Pistons’ rise, Cunningham hopes to finally get the respect he has been yearning for and a first-time NBA All-Star berth.
Cunningham is averaging 24.1 points, 9.5 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game, including scoring a season-high 40 points against the Timberwolves. Bickerstaff also noted Cunningham’s defense as he guards, “the best perimeter player every night.” ESPN, however, ranked Cunningham as the 13th best NBA player under the age of 25 on Dec. 2. He was also listed sixth amongst the Top 10 Eastern Conference guards in the first NBA All-Star balloting announced on Jan. 2. With only two guards selected as All-Star starters, Cunningham will likely have to be selected by East head coaches when the reserves are announced on Jan. 30.
While Cunningham undoubtedly has All-Star statistics, the Pistons owning a winning record will certainly help him become the franchise’s first All-Star since Blake Griffin in 2019.
“It definitely bothered me,” said Cunningham, about the lack of notoriety. “It’s like an itch that you can’t really scratch, for real. But I knew that in due time if I continue to work, it will all come through and people would understand what type of player I am and what I could bring to a team. But in the end, I knew it took a winning team…
“To be an All-Star, I just need to continue doing what I’m doing. I feel like an All-NBA player talent-wise. Whatever the voters think it takes to do that, that’s on them. But as far as night in and night out how I feel on the court, how I’m imposing myself on the game, that’s all I’m worried about. All the rest that comes with it comes.”
Said Bickerstaff: “You can’t find a handful of guards who have outplayed him this season, point blank, period.”
There is finally joy for Cunningham wearing a Pistons uniform in Detroit. With the franchise’s first playoff since 2019 on his mind, winning is curing all the ills of the past.
“This team has been a lot of fun. It feels good to do it for the city. I’m loving it,” Cunningham said. “There is a different appreciation for the grind and what it takes to win. Last [season] was hard for us. We’re savoring every moment of this for sure. But we got a long way to go. We are nowhere near our goals yet…
“[The playoffs] are our No. 1 goal this year. It’s not too farfetched. What we are working to do is bring a playoff series to Detroit and to win playoff games this season. That’s the main goal, making it to the playoffs.”