The Detroit Pistons’ fanbase learned some brutal news on Thursday morning.
Cade Cunningham, an MVP contender, has been diagnosed with a collapsed lung, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania writes that Cunningham “is expected to miss an extended period of time.”
A collapsed lung, officially known as a pneumothorax, occurs when “air leaks into the space between your lung and chest wall,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “This air pushes on the outside of your lung and makes it collapse.”
The Mayo Clinic adds that various chest injuries can cause a collapsed lung, “or it may occur for no obvious reason.”
A collapsed lung, as you’d expect, can lead to breathing issues.
Without knowing the severity of Cunningham’s injury, it’s hard to know exactly how long he’ll be out.
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps wrote on X: “CJ McCollum has dealt with this a couple times in the past, missing three weeks in 2023 and six weeks in 2021.”
Regardless, it’s not ideal timing for Detroit.
The Pistons are currently holding the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference with 14 games to play. They are 3.5 games up on the 2-seed Boston Celtics.
Maybe that’s enough of a gap to hold firm, and if Cunningham can be back by the playoffs, they’ll still be a contender to reach the NBA Finals.
Cunningham has averaged 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game this season. The 24-year-old former No. 1 overall pick has grown into one of the best players in the NBA.
As a 6-foot-6 offensive initiator, Cunningham makes life incredibly tough on opposing defenses.
Without him, the likes of Ausar Thompson, Tobias Harris and Jalen Duren will have to carry heavier offensive loads, while guys like Marcus Sasser, Daniss Jenkins and Caris LeVert will have to do more ball handling.
The Pistons won 16 games two seasons ago, 46 last season and have already exceeded that with a 49-19 record so far this season. The rise has been remarkable, due in large part to Cunningham.
Now they’ll just be hoping he can make it back on the court in time to make this special season continue in the playoffs.
