DETROIT – The NBA announced that Detroit Pistons two-time All-Star guard Cade Cunningham was named Eastern Conference player of the month for games played in February.
Tuesday’s (March 3) announcement is the second time in Cunningham’s career that he has received the honor; he was also named Eastern Conference player of the month in November.
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Cunningham, listed at 6’6” and 243 pounds, led the Pistons to a 9-2 record in February, a mark tied for the best record in the Eastern Conference last month.
He averaged 25.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 9.9 assists while shooting 47.2 percent from the field across 11 games.
Cunningham made his first career start in the NBA All-Star Game in February.
The guard has helped Detroit to an NBA-best 76.3 percent winning percentage thus far and the Pistons’ most wins (45) since the 2007-08 season, the team said.
MotorCade posted seven double-doubles and three 30-point games in February.
In a Feb. 19 win at New York, Cunningham had 42 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds, and two blocks, a line the team said made him the first Piston in franchise history and the third player in NBA history to record those minimums at Madison Square Garden, joining Allen Iverson and LeBron James.
From Feb. 19-26, Cunningham put together a four-game streak of at least 10 assists and two blocks, the team said, the second-longest such streak in NBA history and the longest since 1994, when Mookie Blaylock had a five-game streak.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Cunningham has averaged 25.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 9.8 assists in 35.0 minutes per game through 53 games this season.
Cunningham’s 9.8 assists per game lead the Eastern Conference and rank second in the NBA behind Nikola Jokic, the team said.
If he keeps that average, it would be the highest assists per game by a Piston since Isiah Thomas averaged 10.0 in 1986-87.
Through 261 career games with Detroit, Cunningham ranks first in total points (5,938) and second in assists (2,049) behind Thomas (2,399) in the first 261 games of a career, the team said.
Cunningham is one of two NBA players this season averaging at least 25 points, five rebounds, and nine assists, joining Jokic.
Among guards this season, he ranks first in the NBA in double-doubles (33) and third in lowest opponent field-goal percentage (.428), the team said. He is also the only player this season with at least three games of four or more steals and two or more blocks.
The Pistons said Cunningham leads the NBA in 30-point, assist double-doubles this season and ranks fourth in total double-doubles (33).
Catch Cunningham on the court as he and the Pistons travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers on March 3.