NBA players tab Cade Cunningham as the league’s most underrated player

NBA players tab Cade Cunningham as the league’s most underrated player

Leading up to the 2024-25 NBA Season, the Detroit Pistons were coming off their worst season in franchise history. They won only 14 games under first-year Pistons head coach Monty Williams, three fewer than the year they did before, losing 28 straight games, tying the Philadelphia 76ers for the worst ever.

They fired Williams and hired former Cleveland Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff while conjuring together the best supporting cast of Cade Cunningham‘s young career. It reaped benefits, as Cunningham made his first All-Star team and the Pistons experienced a remarkable 30-win improvement, the sixth-best year-to-year turnaround in NBA History.

The Athletic published their annual anonymous player poll this week, and Cunningham voted as the league’s most underrated player as a result of budding success.

According to the poll, 136 (of the 158 total) players voted for the question regarding the NBA’s most underrated player. Cunningham secured 8.8 percent of the vote (12 total votes), followed by Derrick White, Norman Powell, Austin Reaves, Jrue Holiday and Jaren Jackson Jr., respectively.

NBA players voted Cade Cunningham as the most underrated player in the league 👀

(via @TheAthletic, h/t @RTNBA) pic.twitter.com/OnP0vNeS0d

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 22, 2025

White and Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams finished tied for first in the vote last year, while Cunningham didn’t earn a single vote.

Cunningham, 23, helped Detroit secure a top-6 seed in the East for the first time since 2007-08. It snapped its 15-game playoff losing streak Monday against the New York Knicks, securing a crucial 100-94 win inside Madison Square Garden. The first-time All-Star finished with 33 points and 12 rebounds in 42 minutes.

For the season, Cunningham averaged 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists per game on 46.9 percent shooting and 35.6 percent from 3-point range. It was a career year for the No. 1 overall pick, continuing to improve despite the telephone booth-esque spacing he’s had for much of his career.

Is Tyrese Haliburton the most overrated player in NBA?

In early December, ESPN had Cunningham 13th on the “Top 25 under 25,” behind LaMelo Ball, Scottie Barnes and Tyrese Haliburton, among others. I think he’s better than at least the former two players; there’s debates to be had about Haliburton, voted as the most overrated.

Do you think Cade Cunningham is the most underrated player? Let us know in the comments!

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