First overall pick in 2021, a franchise in bad shape, injuries and a habit of defeat risked obscuring his talent. Instead Cade is playing an All Star season, and with him and coach Bickerstaff Detroit dreams of returning to the playoffs
Kristap Porzingis is at the line, and makes the second free throw, bringing the Celtics’ lead to +8. The cameras catch Cade Cunningham: his forehead is furrowed and his expression combines anger and despair as he bites his lip. The Pistons also led by 19 points at the Garden, but an overtime loss is looming. And if a defeat against the future NBA champions may seem like the lesser of evils for a low-ranking team, at that moment it is, in all respects, the greatest of dramas. It is the twenty-eighth consecutive defeat, which puts Detroit’s name alongside that of Philadelphia in the less than honorable record of the worst negative streak in the history of the NBA. From October 30 to December 30, 2023, the Pistons did nothing but lose. Yet, Cade does not lose hope. After the victory against the Raptors, which interrupts the dark streak, the happiness is palpable. But it’s fleeting. The Pistons’ season will continue with a thousand difficulties and then end with the misery of 14 victories against 68 defeats.