Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is having an exceptional year, and NBA fans are giving him his due.
Per the latest All-Star fan vote, Cunningham sits fourth among all Eastern Conference players and is one of seven players in the NBA to eclipse over 1 million votes so far. The three Eastern Conference players above Cunningham in the vote tally are Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Philadelphia 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
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Cunningham made his first All-Star team in the 2024-25 season, the same season where he also made his first All-NBA team and finished seventh in the MVP voting. He has also raised his per-game averages from from the previous season in many key statistical measures, including points (26.1 to 26.5), assists (9.1 to 9.6) and rebounds (6.1 to 6.3).
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He is the only Pistons player listed in the top-20 in fan voting among Eastern Conference players. The New York Knicks lead all teams with five players listed in their respective conference’s top-20.
Cunningham has been the most productive player on a Pistons’ squad that currently sits in first in the East, but he may not be the only Pistons player deserving of an All-Star nod. Though he is not in the top 20 in Eastern Conference fan voting, Pistons center Jalen Duren is one of only three NBA centers to average at least 18 points and 10 rebounds per game, the others being Denver’s Nikola Jokić and New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns.
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Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Dončić leads the Western Conference in fan voting, followed closely behind by Jokić and Golden State Warriors guard Steph Curry.
The 2026 NBA All-Star Game will take place at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California, on Sunday, Feb. 15. The competition, in a refreshed format, will feature three teams playing in a round-robin tournament of four games of 12 minutes apiece, with two teams made up of U.S.-born players and one team made up of international players.
NBA All-Stars will be selected using a formula comprised of fan voting (50%), choices from current NBA players (25%) and media selections (25%), with NBA head coaches selecting reserve players. Fans can submit one ballot each day, with voting ending on Jan. 14.
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You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cade Cunningham NBA All-Star vote has fans turning out