(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The 2021 NBA Draft class is turning out to be a talented one, with quite a few players starting to become legitimate stars in the league while leading their teams to promising futures.
This season especially, some of the players in that draft are starting to make some noise, with Franz Wagner and Alperen Sengun being among the players that would’ve gotten serious consideration for the No. 1 overall pick in retrospect.
Unfortunately for former No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons, things haven’t looked too good, as the struggling franchise may now regret the choice they made to bring him in out of Oklahoma State University.
Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated argues that if teams were to do a redraft of 2021, Cunningham would be passed over by Evan Mobley, Scottie Barnes, Wagner, Sengun, and possibly Jalen Green, via NBACentral.
“Redraft that ’21 class today—where would Cunningham go? After Evan Mobley, definitely. Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner and Alperen Şengün, probably. Throw Jalen Green into that mix.”
– @SIChrisMannix on Cade Cunningham pic.twitter.com/LPY7DmqjAG
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 30, 2023
Unfortunately for Cunningham, he’s dealt with some injury issues during his short time in the NBA thus far, which have prevented him from reaching his true potential in the league.
Last season, Cunningham played in only 12 games, which basically takes out an entire season, during which he was expected to take another step in his development.
However, in 18 games so far this season, Cunningham has had his moments while averaging a career-high 21.8 points per game to go along with 7.0 assists and 3.7 rebounds per contest.
At the end of the season, the narrative might be a lot different when it comes to whether Cunningham was worthy of being a No. 1 overall pick, but there’s a lot of basketball left to be played, and he’ll need to stay healthy while producing to prove his worth.
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