Landon Buford
Cade Cunningham was taken with the number one pick out of Oklahoma State University by the Detriot Pistons. Leading up to the 2021 NBA Draft, Cunningham drew comparisons to Hall of Famer Grant Hill by trainer Mark Edwards. He has also drawn comparisons two-time All Star Luka Doncic, and the latest is NBA great Brandon Roy.
On Monday’s episode of ESPN’s The Jump, Richard Jefferson revealed that Cunningham reminded him of Portland Trail Blazer legend Brandon Roy.
“You know when I look at Cade Cunningham you know, what do I see? For NBA fans, I see Brandon Roy. Brandon Roy was one of the most impressive right away NBA players that you could see `because he was like first, but he wasn’t that fast. He was quick but, he wasn’t that quick,” said Jefferson.
“He was athletic, but not that super athletic, but what he did was understood the game at an extremely high level, and he did not have any deficiencies in his game. He was strong dominant going to the left, he would post up smaller, he would go by bigger guards, he had such a complete game, and when I look at Cade Cunningham don’t see a lot of flaws.”
NBA Draft Historian and Draft Analyst Matthew Maurer agrees with Jefferson.
“Like Roy there not really a lot of holes in his game. He can handle the ball, he can shoot, he can score in bunches. The things that you are worry about with Cade. He can’t control which is his athleticism.”
Cunningham in a 93-87 win over the New York Knicks scored 24 points, seven rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes. However, something that was jumping of the box score was his 7-10 from behind the arc. According to Cody Taylor of Rookie Wire, his seven 3s were tied for the most this year in a summer league game.
“My jumper felt good,” Cunningham said. “I think I hit the first one and anytime you see the first one go through, it’s a good feeling. Anytime I can get an open one, I’m going to let it fly regardless of how my shot is going because I know how much work I put in.
“They gave me a couple of good ones and my teammates were finding me making sure they were hitting me in my spots so I was just trying to pay them back for that.”
