Apr 19, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) bring the ball up court in Game One of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

Cade Cunningham Utters Bold Statement on Pistons' Ausar Thompson

Originally posted on Detroit Pistons on SI
By Kevin McCormick | Last updated Sep 30, 2025 12:34 PM ET

Last season, Cade Cunningham was the member of the Detroit Pistons' core to make massive strides in their development. Ahead of the 2026 campaign, the All-Star guard is confident one of his teammates can make a significant leap of their own this year.

With so many talented young players on the roster, there are multiple players for Detroit who could emerge as X-factors this season. That said, Ausar Thompson is a name that has been thrown around the most as training camp gets ready to begin.

Despite dealing with health setbacks, Thompson has shown a lot of promise in Detroit since being drafted fifth overall in 2023. However, this was a big offseason for him. It marked the first time since turning pro that he was fully healthy for the entire summer.

Upon having added time to train and work on his craft, Thompson is someone many are excited to see back in action in camp. Based on some recent remarks, he's already started to turn heads within the team.

Brad Penner-Imagn Images

During his media day press conference, Cunningham dove into a wide range of topics. Among the things he was asked was which of his teammates he feels has made the biggest leap this season.

Cunningham noted multiple players he feels have improved since the end of last year, but uttered very confident remarks regarding Thompson.

"Ausar has had a great summer," Cunningham said. "I think he's going to really make a lot of noise this year. He's going to wake a lot of people up in a loud way."

Thompson missed the early stages of last season as he was still recovering from the blood clot diagnosis he received as a rookie, but still managed to appear in 59 games in his sophomore campaign. In that time, he averaged 10.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 1.7 SPG.

Given his versatile skill set, Thompson has a chance to be a very impactful player for the Pistons in 2026. His elite-level athleticism makes him a constant threat in transition and has aided him in being Detroit's go-to option for lockdown perimeter defense.

Based on Cunningham's recent comments, the Pistons might already have their next breakout candidate lined up.

This article first appeared on Detroit Pistons on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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