Cade Cunningham put the finishing touches on a remarkable season with a 36-point outburst in the Pistons’ 115-106 win over the Knicks on Thursday.
With two games left, the 23-year-old is officially the youngest player in franchise history to average over 25.0 points per game, a feat that eluded Pistons-bred Hall of Famers such as Isiah Thomas, Grant Hill, Joe Dumars, Bob Lanier and Dave Bing.
Lanier was the previous youngest Piston to average over 25+ per game when he tallied 25.7 points in 1971-72. Bing similarly averaged over 25 as a sophomore but was a year older than Cunningham. As for the other three Hall of Famers, only Hill averaged over 25 in the 1999-2000 season.
Cunnigham’s 26.0 PPG is also the sixth-highest tally by a Piston in the franchise’s 68-year history, trailing only Jerry Stackhouse (29.8), George Yardley (27.8), Bing (averaged over 27 twice) and Kelly Tripucka (26.5).
Remarkably, Cunningham has etched his name in Pistons’ lore in his fourth season, and he threatens to shatter every franchise record in the coming years.
