Pistons guard Cade Cunningham continues to recover from a left lung pneumothorax, with the team announcing Thursday that he is progressing and will be re-evaluated in one week. That means he will miss at least four more games.
The timeline effectively rules him out of eligibility for end-of-season honors like MVP and All-NBA.
Cunningham has been sidelined since suffering the injury in Detroit’s March 17 win over Washington and has now missed eight games after being on track for major awards recognition.
He made his first bench appearance since the injury during Tuesday’s win over Toronto, when the Pistons clinched their first Central Division title since 2008.
Cunningham has averaged 24.5 points, 9.9 assists, 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 0.9 blocks in 61 games, with several career highs, and was firmly in the MVP conversation before going down.
His situation has sparked renewed criticism of the NBA’s 65-game rule from the NBPA.
“Cade Cunningham’s potential ineligibility for postseason awards after a career-defining season is a clear indictment of the 65-game rule and yet another example of why it must be abolished or reformed to create an exception for significant injuries,” an NBPA spokesperson said.
MORE FOR YOU
“Since its implementation, far too many deserving players have been unfairly disqualified from end-of-season honors by this arbitrary and overly rigid quota.”
Detroit is 55-21 and has gone 6-2 without Cunningham, remaining in position to secure the top seed in the East.
Cade Cunningham Out At Least One More Week, Will Lose Award Eligibility https://t.co/NIvaS2QfU0
— RealGM (@RealGM) April 2, 2026
