Detroit Pistons superstar Cade Cunningham started the 2025-26 season with a new look. The faded afro is gone, replaced with tight braids. And a closer look reveals that his game may have undergone a bit of a transformation, too. Cunningham looks more confident and has been attacking the basket more aggressively. The result is a 5-2 start for the Pistons in a suddenly wide-open Eastern Conference. Is Cunningham primed to improve on his 2024-25 All-Star season? Seven games into the season, Cunningham’s numbers have improved noticeably over last year in several important categories. According to Basketball-reference.com, his assists are up (9.6 vs. 9.1), and his turnovers are down (3.7 vs. 4.4), which translates into a higher assist-to-turnover ratio (2.6:1 vs 2.1:1). He is also getting to the charity stripe more frequently (7.3 vs. 5.3). These are all significant developments for a point guard, as they suggest that he is doing what a good point guard is supposed to: distribute, handle and attack. In a post-
