Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham has gained the attention of fans for the work he’s put in the 2024-25 NBA season. Cunningham is on the verge of becoming a star point guard in the league and one former player wants to help him achieve his potential.
On Wednesday’s “Run It Back,” on FanDuel TV, the show welcomed four-time All-Star Rajon Rondo. The former member of the Boston Celtics spoke highly of the Pistons guard, who he believes can take his game to the next level with the right help.
Rondo believes he knows how he can help Cunningham improve.
“If I can get Cade to understand how to manage the game because again, he’s a three-level scorer, he can manipulate the game on both ends of the floor,” Rondo said. “For me, if I can get my hands on a Cade Cunningham… I think he could become that one type of point guard.
He also said the Pistons should give him the right personnel on the floor. Rondo believes two other stars will help him focus on other aspects of the game.
Cade Cunningham’s people need to get in contact with Rajon Rondo’s people ASAP 📲 pic.twitter.com/ogUd4wtPt4
— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) January 22, 2025
“It’s only a couple of tweaks, then also, it’s about personnel. Because, again, if he has to be the man, and he has to get 30 and that’s what he has to do. But if he had maybe two more superstars in the game, he wouldn’t have to manage and go get 30 every night.”
As a former star in the league, Rondo understands what Cunningham needs to take his game to the next level. Additionally, the two-time champion had the chance to play alongside some of the league’s best stars such as Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and LeBron James.
Cade Cunningham speaks on his rivalry with Jalen Green
Cade Cunningham and Jalen Green were the top two prospects in the 2021 NBA Draft. Their journey in the league started with Cunningham getting selected by the Pistons over Green. While not a lot of fans are aware, the two guards have been rivals since high school.
On Tuesday’s episode of “Inside the NBA, Cunningham talked about his rivalry with the Houston Rockets guard.
“We want to compete against each other,” Cunningham said.
“They’ve always put us up against each other since high school, as far as who’s better. I think we both kind of enjoy being able to go head-up against each other and see who’s the best. I don’t think we need [handshakes before the game]. We both kind of know what it is, and we enjoy competing.”
"They've always put us up against each other since high school" 😯
Cade shares his perspective on the competitive dynamic between him and Houston Rockets' Jalen Green 😤 pic.twitter.com/X6yRJdmI5p
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) January 22, 2025
Since starting their careers, the two guards have only played against each other four times. But they’ve displayed a competitive brand of basketball and have a 2-2 record in their head-to-head battles.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
