Cade Cunningham is a rising star that is in line to win the NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year award.
There have been a multitude of players who have shown vast improvement from last season. Six players have boosted their scoring average by at least seven points, and 3-4 players are on track to make All-NBA teams without ever making an All-Star team. However, only one player can win the NBA's coveted Most Improved Player award. The argument could be made that's it's already been decided.
Cade Cunningham has to be considered the current favorite to win the NBA's Most Improved Player of the Year award, with other players like Dyson Daniels, Christian Braun, and Tyler Herro being close alternatives.
The case For Cade
Cunningham has led his team to one of the most dramatic one-year turnarounds in NBA history. Last season, the Pistons had a 14-68 record, which was the worst record by any team since 2016 when the 76ers went 10-72. Coincidentally, during their 14-win season, the Pistons tied those 76ers for the longest losing streak in NBA history with 28 straight losses. Headed into this season, the Pistons over-under for wins was just 25.5, which was the fourth-lowest line in the NBA.
Detroit has smashed those expectations, and Cunningham is at the forefront of the operation. The Pistons are 37-29, sixth in the Eastern Conference standings (just a half-game out of fourth), and are on pace for the sixth-largest turnaround in win percentage in NBA history (0.171 to 0.554). They are also on pace to become the first team in NBA history to have a winning record after winning fewer than 15 games the season prior.
Individually, Cunningham has checked all of the boxes for the award. He has improved his points per game from 22.7 to 25.6, his rebounds from 4.3 to 6.1, and his assists from 7.5 to 9.2, which is the third highest in the league. His field goal percentage has leaped 1.4%, and his three-point percentage has also jumped 0.6%. Additionally, he's averaging more steals than last season, and his blocks per game have doubled.
The advanced stats support Cunningham's Most Improved case, too. His offensive and defensive box plus-minus are by far the highest of his career. His win shares per 48 minutes have nearly tripled from last season, and his VORP has leapt from 1.2 to 2.9, which is the largest increase in the entire league.
While Cunningham is the betting favorite, some of the more credible NBA pundits disagree with him winning the award, arguing that he's always been a premier talent but hasn't had a good enough team around him to showcase it. Now, he's got an army of shooters around him, which has been the reason for his increased statistics and Detroit's team success. Their skepticism does raise a valid question: Should the award go to a player who isn't as good as Cunningham but has had a larger statistical leap that isn't as dependent on their supporting cast?
To that question, I'd say that the Most Improved Player award is almost always given to the Cunningham-esque player. The last five winners all averaged at least 23.8 points per game. Some of those players, such as Ja Morant and Julius Randle, took a middling team and single-handedly turned them around in one season, much like Cunningham has done this year.
Other recent winners like Jimmy Butler in 2015, Giannis Antetokounmpo in 2017, and Victor Oladipo in 2018 fit the same mold. Additionally, the last time a Most Improved Player averaged fewer than 15 points per game was Boris Diaw in 2006 (13.3 PPG). Cunningham's only realistic competitor, Dyson Daniels, while a great defender, only averages 14.1 points per game. All of the precedent points to Cunningham as the deserving winner.