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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 30, 2025: Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) beats Los Angeles Lakers forward Lebron James (23) and Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) to score on a layup at Crypto.com Arena on December 30, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The incredible success of the Detroit Pistons is showing off Cade Cunningham’s impressive play as a franchise player. Detroit reached the top of the Eastern Conference faster than expected and are expected to finish with the first seed for the NBA Playoffs. Cunningham led the Pistons to a strong victory over the New York Knicks and received more MVP praise.
Retired NBA player and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins made a bold statement about Cunningham passing up Luka Doncic and others:
“It’s SGA, Giannis, Jokic and guess who’s right there next after them? It’s Cade Cunningham. Cade Cunningham has just leapfrogged Luka Doncic as far as top five players in the NBA in my eyes.
Jaylen Brown is in that conversation right now as well. You know why? Forget the point that he gave them 40-piece off flats, it’s the eight rebounds, it’s the 13 assists, and Cade Cunningham plays both sides of the basketball. Jaylen Brown plays both sides of the basketball.”
Perkins claimed that Cunningham and Jaylen Brown each playing both sides of the ball better than Doncic puts them higher. Both MVP candidates have entered the top five active players to Perkins and bounced Luka into the sixth spot.
Will Cade Cunningham Have True MVP Contention?
The list of Perkins featured three players above Cunningham and Brown. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Nikola Jokic are the undisputed top three to Perkins and many fans around the league. All three have already won an NBA Championship and at least one regular season MVP Award.
Cunningham has proclaimed himself an MVP candidate, but he currently has an outside chance to win it. Past seasons would see Cunningham as a top favorite due to the Pistons overachieving and becoming a contender faster than anyone expected behind his superstar play.
Unfortunately, high level competition makes it a tough path for Cunningham. Gilgeous-Alexander is considered the strong favorite. Despite an injury currently holding him out, SGA can miss another eleven games and still qualify. Jokic is right behind him, but he can only afford to miss a few more games. Cunningham is there with Brown and Doncic as the outside contenders behind the top two.
Is Perkins Anointing Cade Too Soon?
One element of Perkins’ point that should be called out is the lack of success for Cunningham so far. Doncic has led a team to the NBA Finals and made two Western Conference Finals as the face of the Dallas Mavericks franchise.
Jokic, Gilgeous-Alexander, Brown, and Doncic have all won NBA Championships and proved to be great on the highest level. Cunningham must have a strong playoff run and advance deep as the top seed to make Perkins’ words ring true this season.
The East currently has three teams right below Detroit that all pose a big threat entering the postseason. Pundits like Perkins are putting more pressure on Cunningham to live up to the hype during the NBA Playoffs. Cunningham must deliver on the biggest stage or Perkins and a few other names will look foolish in a couple of months.
Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford
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