Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is having the best season of his NBA career. He is averaging 25.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and a career-high 9.9 assists per game this season, while leading the Pistons to the best record in the Eastern Conference and the second-best overall in the league.
With Cade also among the favorites to win the MVP award, some are saying that if he wins the Michael Jordan Trophy and the Pistons take home the Larry O’Brien Trophy, Cunningham will have a strong case to be the next face of the league. Hall of Famer Paul Pierce, however, disagrees with that.
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“Unless you’re bigger than life like LeBron, it’s hard to be the face of the league playing for Detroit,” said Pierce. “He can be MVP this year. He can win a championship and still wouldn’t probably be considered the face of the league just because he’s in Detroit.”
“I mean, we saw Jayson Tatum go out and win a championship and do all these Olympics, and we don’t consider him the face of the league,” he added.
Big markets and winning franchises
The “face of the NBA” is one of the league’s most argued topics, similar to the GOAT debate. Like the “greatest of all time” discussion, there are no defined standards or fixed qualifications for becoming the face of the NBA.
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Some say it’s just the fans who anoint the one when he comes, while others say that the player just comes along and takes the title. Pierce didn’t explain why he thinks it’s hard for Cade to become the face in Motown. However, there are similarities between the players who were considered the face of the league.
From Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Steph Curry, the chosen one usually comes from a big market or a league-winning team.
As Paul said, he has a bigger-than-life personality. Not saying Cade isn’t larger-than-life, but he plays for the small-to-mid-market Detroit Pistons, whose only two winning eras were the Bad Boys of the 90s and the 2004 “Goin to Work” Pistons.
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Gil also warned that Nike will get Cade out of Detroit
Last November, Gilbert Arenas also warned Pistons fans that they could lose Cunningham in the near future because, as it stands today, if LeBron James retires, Cade would be Nike’s top American NBA endorser.
They will need him to be in a big market like their other top U.S. stars.
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“People are gonna hate that I’m gonna say it,”said Gil. “If you are a Pistons fan, you should be worried… a little bit because this is not Puma. This ain’t Anta. This is Nike. Nike is the sponsor of the NBA. Nike has its own agenda. And I’m pretty sure Cade staying in Detroit ain’t part of their agenda.”
There’s no question that Detroit fans love the young guard as much as he loves playing for the Pistons and they may be ready for success. But if Cunningham is to take that next level of superstardom, he might have to follow where the Swoosh will lead him. And wherever that is, it’s where he might become the face of the league.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Mar 4, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.