Cade Cunningham is earning high praise before even stepping foot on the NBA stage.
Cunningham, who is expected to be selected No. 1 overall in the 2021 NBA Draft later this month, recently was compared to Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum.
“He has it. He surveys the game for the first 15, 20 minutes, then says ‘what do we need?’ And he does it,” a Western Conference executive told The Athletic’s David Aldridge. “… (Cunningham)’s Jayson Tatum. Same size. Can score from anywhere on the court.”
Cunningham measures at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds. He averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game during his freshman year at Oklahoma State while shooting 40 percent from long range.
The Big 12 Player of the Year is regarded as a big guard who possesses both an exceptional court vision and ability to break down defenders off the dribble.
Tatum was 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds when he came out of Duke before the Celtics selected him No. 3 overall in the 2017 NBA Draft.
He’s since developed into a two-time NBA All-Star and averaged a career-best 26.4 points while shooting 39 percent from 3-point range last season. Tatum, as Celtics fans are well aware, has the ability to break down defenders off the dribble while he has continued to develop his playmaking ability.
The Detroit Pistons hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, which will be held July 29. NESN.com has Detroit selecting Cunningham in its NBA Mock Draft 1.0.
