In Wednesday night’s road game against the Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham showed why he should win Most Improved Player of the Year.
With the game tied at 113 and five seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Pistons inbounded the ball to Cunningham. He took two quick dribbles before banking in a winning three-pointer.
The Pistons improved to 39-31 with the win. Cunningham finished with a team-high 25 points on 11-of-25 shooting.
As of Wednesday night, FanDuel Sportsbook gave Cunningham the best odds (-230) to win Most Improved Player of the Year.
Cunningham — the No. 1 pick of the 2021 NBA Draft — has always been a star for the Pistons, but he has certainly elevated his game this season. Through his first 64 games, he ranked 10th in the league in scoring, averaging a career-high 25.6 points per game.
Cunningham’s improvement is one key reason the Pistons have pulled off an impressive turnaround.
Last season, they finished with the worst record (14-68) in the NBA. Now, Detroit can make the playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season. If the postseason started Wednesday, the Pistons would have the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference.
