NBA draft: Can Cade Cunningham save the Detroit Pistons?

On Tuesday, the Detroit Pistons won the NBA Draft Lottery and the top overall pick in the NBA draft, which will likely be used to select Cade Cunningham. The former Oklahoma State prospect is viewed by many to be the best of a rather interesting draft class that has plenty of talent, though it doesn’t have the sizzling appeal of a surefire top pick. The Pistons, meanwhile, have the first overall pick for the first time since 1970, when they took Hall of Famer Bob Lanier.

There’s no Zion Williamson, or LeBron James, or even a Kevin Durant. Instead, the top pick will likely be Cunningham, whose stats at Oklahoma State were impressive. In his freshman season, Cunningham was the winner of the Wayman Tisdale Award winner for the top freshman in college basketball. He was also the first player in program history to be named to the Associated Press All-America First Team. In addition, in his last season at Oklahoma State, Cunningham averaged 20.1 points per game, six rebounds, and four assists on 43.8 percent shooting.

This past season, Cunningham guided the Cowboys to the NCAA Tournament and an appearance in the second round before falling to Elite Eight participant Oregon State. While Cunningham has had his moments, the expectations will be large given that if he does go No.1 overall, he will be tasked with helping resurrect the Pistons franchise, which is among the most storied in the league.

On Tuesday, the Detroit Pistons won the NBA Draft Lottery and the top overall pick in the draft, which will likely be used to select Cade Cunningham.

The Detroit Pistons are one of the more historic franchises, pulling off masterful victories while playing a physical brand of basketball that was instrumental in each of their three championships. Notably, the 2004 title when they shut up national pundits and the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers 4-1 with the skills of Chauncey Billups and the aggression of future Hall of Famer Ben Wallace.

If picked at No. 1 overall, there comes the expectation that you are better than every other player that will be selected that night and that the investment made upon you doesn’t cause people to lose jobs and sink the franchise into further depths. Hopefully, for the Pistons, Cade Cunningham will prove to be the star that they can rely on to bring them back to former glory.

Though the Houston Rockets were the worst team record-wise, they wound up with the second pick, leaving the Motor City as the last one standing and have the right to go first, a right that they need to get right. Other potential targets for the top pick included the Cavaliers and Magic, but they will select third and fifth, respectively, with the Toronto Raptors taking the fourth overall pick in the NBA draft.

Detroit is looking to play some basketball once again, and Cade Cunningham may be the piece the franchise needs to start their rebuild. The Eastern Conference has many talented teams, and there is really no other place to go than up for the Pistons. The fans want a banner and having the top overall pick while getting it right is the right start.