Cade Cunningham Says the Right Thing When it Comes to MVP Questions

So, what’s next for Cade?

Most Valuable Player, perhaps?

"If I can help get this team to where my goal is to get this team this season, all this stuff will be on the way. I’m not shy to say that. I think that's very possible,” Cunningham recently told ESPN.

Cunningham says the right thing. Denying any desire to win the MVP award would look like a lie. At the same time, making that the main goal would reflect a selfish mentality. Cunningham believes that if he can lead the Pistons to success, that could simply come with everything else. Plus, MVP would be great—but NBA Finals MVP would be better.

“Finals MVP, I'd be way happier about that than an MVP," Cunningham added. "Basketball is a team game. To be the MVP, you have to be valuable to your team. And that can look so many different ways. If you're the best player in the world, you're probably going to have the best team in the world."

The NBA’s MVP race has included Nikola Jokic and Giannis Antetokounmpo near the front of the line for the past few seasons. Last year, the league crowned Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as the winner, and he surely won’t be going away anytime soon.

Cunningham wasn’t close last year, but he was somewhat in the conversation. When the voting results were revealed, Cunningham was tied for seventh with the Minnesota Timberwolves guard, Anthony Edwards. The only players in front of him were LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jokic, and Gilgeous-Alexander.

In 70 games, Cunningham averaged 26.1 points, while shooting 46 percent from the field and 35 percent from beyond the arc. He dished out 9.1 assists per game and collected 6.1 rebounds per outing.

Four games into the new season, Cunningham’s averages are down across the board, but there is still so much more basketball left to be played. There’s not a lot of room for error in the MVP race, but Cunningham shouldn’t be ruled out.