Cade Cunningham Matches Oscar Robertson As Pistons Close In on Franchise Win Record

Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons have made a significant jump this season, with Saturday’s 129-116 win over the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Milwaukee Bucks pushing their streak to 12 straight victories.

Cunningham posted 29 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in the win, continuing his run of notching at least 25 points and 10 assists in wins for six consecutive games. Real Sports notes that he has now tied Oscar Robertson, who achieved the same accomplishment in 1964.

Cunningham has delivered multiple standout stat lines during Detroit’s surge, including a 46-point, 12-rebound, 11-assist triple-double against the Washington Wizards, along with three additional 30-point performances during the streak, which reached 12 despite him missing three contests in between.

Their 12-game run is the franchise’s longest since the 2003-04 championship team won 13 straight, a stretch that lasted nearly a month.

Sitting at 14-2, the Pistons have two games remaining on their four-game road swing, facing the Indiana Pacers on Monday and the Boston Celtics on Wednesday in an NBA Cup showdown.

They will then return to Detroit for another NBA Cup matchup on Friday against the Orlando Magic.

Cade Cunningham likened to NBA MVP

Cade Cunningham's rise -- and Detroit’s resurgence -- has been compared to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the OKC Thunder’s emergence after several rebuilding years.

And three-time NBA champion Danny Green says the two guards reflect each other’s growth.

“(Cade Cunningham is) looking like the SGA of the East to me, playing at his own pace, taking his time,” Green said on Wednesday’s "NBA Today."

“What’s more impressive to me is how they’ve gotten wins with him out of the lineup. Question: Can they win 28 (in a row)? That’ll be impressive. If they do that, Cade Cunningham … he might be MVP.”

Cunningham is putting up career-high averages of 27.3 points and 9.9 assists per game this year, while Gilgeous-Alexander is producing 31.9 ppg and 6.6 apg.

Both stars have guided their teams to the best records in their respective conferences. Fans will have to wait a bit for their head-to-head meeting, as the first Pistons-Thunder matchup is scheduled for February 2026 in OKC, with Detroit hosting the second game in March.