Apr 29, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) celebrates after scoring in the third quarter against the New York Knicks during game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham Lands Major Praise From Denver Nuggets Player

Originally posted on Detroit Pistons on SI
By Justin Grasso | Last updated Jul 12, 2025 5:27 PM ET

The 2024-2025 NBA season was the rise of Cade Cunningham.

As the Detroit Pistons found regular season success for the first time since the Blake Griffin stint, it became clear that Cade Cunningham has the tools to take his team to the postseason and perform well enough to help them win games.

Denver Nuggets veteran Tim Hardaway Jr. recently explained how Cunningham finds success.

“I think he’s way more mature than his age,” Hardaway Jr. said on The Young Man and the Three.

Tim Hardaway Jr on Cade Cunningham

“I think he's way more mature than his age he has his mindset the way he takes care of his body the way he goes out there and works on his craft feels like he's probably been in the league for over a decade. You know He's he does an incredible… pic.twitter.com/jYgjHJzYdg
— Pistons Talk (@Pistons__Talk) July 10, 2025

“His mindset, the way he takes care of his body, the way he goes out there and works on his craft, feels like he’s been in the league for over a decade. He does an incredible job of just playing at his pace. He really doesn’t have any weaknesses, three-level scorer, will dunk on you if he has to, can play both ends of the floor.”

That last part is what really stands out to the veteran sharpshooter. As the NBA has shifted to a scoring league, a lot of today’s stars are known to score a lot of points, but also tend to give them right back on the other end of the floor.

When it comes it Cunningham, Hardaway believes he’s in that rare group of players who embrace the challenge and hold their own on the other end of the floor.

“It’s somewhat rare in the league,” Hardaway continued. You have some star players that will play defense, but like, it’s very rare that star players actually take the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player throughout the whole entire night. It was cool to see him take the challenge and see coach and the staff give him the challenge to go out there and compete at the highest level on both ends of the floor, and he flourished.”

Cunningham’s ability to do a bit of everything while thriving as a scorer and playmaker landed him the All-Star/All-NBA category in 2025. Since the former No. 1 overall pick was expected to find stardom at the highest level after his freshman season at Oklahoma State, Cunningham has finally inserted himself into the star category while heading into his fifth professional season.