Detroit, MI
Cade Cunningham joins Pistons on bench for 1st time since injury
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Cade Cunningham made his first public appearance since suffering a collapsed lung, sitting on the bench in street clothes during the Detroit Pistons’ home game on Tuesday, March 31, for a 127-116 win over the Toronto Raptors.
The All-Star guard hadn’t been with the team during a game since he went down with a left lung pneumothorax on the road against the Washington Wizards on March 17.
He was spotted briefly at the team’s Midtown practice facility March 25 during their morning shootaround, working with trainers in the weight room.
The team announced March 19 that Cunningham will be reevaluted in two weeks, which falls on Thursday, presumably before they host the Minnesota Timberwolves. With six regular-season games remaining for the Pistons (55-21), he is five games short of achieving end-of-season award eligibility; this season he is averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game.
“He’s been around, he’s been vocal and his presence has always been there since he went down,” temmate Jalen Duren said Tuesday. “I know the fans probably haven’t seen him at a game, but he hasn’t went anywhere. He’s still been with us, he’s still been communicating every game, every practice. We’ve still been able to see him at the facility. It was just another day for us.”
Watch our podcast, “The Pistons Pulse,” discuss the Cade Cunningham injury fallout, the playoff chase and more:
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Bluesky and/or X @omarisankofa.