Former Oklahoma State Star Secures Impressive NBA Accolade

One of Oklahoma State’s former stars is making some noise in the NBA again this season.

On Monday, the NBA tipped off its MLK Day slate with a highly anticipated announcement. The league announced the 10 All-Star starters for the upcoming All-Star Game, naming five starters from the East and West.

While there will be 15 starters overall with yet another new format, the league still named its typical 10 starters. Among the 10 starters named, former Cowboy guard Cade Cunningham secured a spot for his impressive season for the Detroit Pistons.

Now in his fifth season in the league, Cunningham is set for his second All-Star appearance and was named a starter for the first time. While leading the Pistons to the playoffs was an impressive accomplishment last season, his Detroit squad is at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 30-10 record. 

This season, Cunningham is having the best year of his young career, averaging 25.9 points, six rebounds and 9.6 assists. While his shooting numbers have taken a dip since last season, his ability to lead Detroit to the top spot in the East has been nothing short of spectacular. 

With a career-high 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks and also limiting his turnovers compared to last season, Cunningham has taken a step forward in some other areas to help Detroit turn into a true contender in 2026.

The starters for the All-Star Game are determined by voting of players, fans and media. While Cunningham was fourth in fan voting in the Eastern Conference and seventh overall with over 2.6 million votes, he ranked second among media and was ranked the top in the East by players. In terms of weighted rankings, Cunningham was second overall behind only two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo.

While Cunningham is unlikely to find his way to an MVP this season, he is well on his way to another All-NBA selection, already making a strong case to secure his first First-Team All-NBA selection and build on his seventh-place MVP finish from a year ago.

As Cunningham dominates on the floor in Detroit at the next level, OSU is hoping to make it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since he was in Stillwater. As Steve Lutz and crew look to build a winning program at OSU, having such an elite representative like Cunningham at the next level is only helpful for the Cowboys.