Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham drops nearly 40 spots in ESPN NBA player rankings

Cade Cunningham was the only player on the Detroit Pistons to crack ESPN's top 100 NBA players' list heading into the 2023-24 season.

Cunningham was ranked as the 74th-best player in the NBA by the panel of over 100 ESPN employees, dropping 39 spots from his ranking last year of 35. Cunningham is ranked directly behind Utah's Walker Kessler, New York's RJ Barrett, Washington's Jordan Poole, and Oklahoma City's Chet Holmgren.

The writer said Cunningham's injury, which cost him most of the 2022-23 season, was the reason for the plummet and he could easily rise again next year.

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The former no. 1 overall pick enters the season fully healthy after missing 70 games last season due to a shin injury. Cunningham averaged 17.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 76 career games over his injury-plagued first two seasons.

New head coach Monty Williams and the rest of the young Pistons are excited to have their leader back on the floor healthy. Cunningham's return gained buzz when he performed well against Team USA in Las Vegas and continued to grow when his teammates talked about the new and improved player they were seeing in practice.

Cunningham had an up-and-down game against the Phoenix Suns in his return to action in the preseason opener. Cunningham had 12 points, six assists and two rebounds on 5-for-15 shooting and was a minus-24 in plus/minus in 23 minutes.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons' Cade Cunningham drops 39 spots in ESPN NBA rankings