{"id":667128,"date":"2026-03-19T15:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/667128\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T15:49:16","slug":"pistons-cade-cunningham-has-collapsed-lung-in-injury-shocker","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/667128\/","title":{"rendered":"Pistons&#8217; Cade Cunningham has collapsed lung in injury shocker"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Pistons star Cade Cunningham suffered a \u201cmild\u201d collapsed lung that is expected to sideline him for an \u201cextended\u201d stretch, <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/2034619856423649708\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">according to ESPN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The franchise reportedly is unsure how much time the 24-year-old star will miss, with the first round of the NBA playoffs beginning April 18, but there is optimism he could be ready for the start of the postseason.<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham, the former No. 1 pick, is an MVP candidate and has led the Pistons to an Eastern Conference-best 49-19 record.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38828798\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/user-expressly-acknowledges-agrees-downloading-123863175.jpg\" alt=\"Cade Cunningham, wearing a blue Detroit Pistons jersey, shoots a free throw with a Washington Wizards player in the background.\" class=\"wp-image-38828798\"  \/>Cade Cunningham\u2019s status moving forward is uncertain. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game, and earlier this year made his second straight All-Star team.<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham last played Tuesday against the Wizards, exiting the game in the first quarter with what the team described as back spasms <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/cade-cunningham-exits-back-spasms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">after diving for a loose ball<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Should he not return during the regular season, Cunningham would fall short of the NBA\u2019s 65-game minimum <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/24\/betting\/nbas-65-game-award-rule-complicating-mvp-race\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">to qualify for awards<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>His stats have him in the mix for NBA MVP, although he\u2019s a long shot to best heavy favorite and reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Thunder.<\/p>\n<p>If Cunningham is unable to return this season, it would be a massive blow for a franchise with a legitimate possibility of returning to its first NBA Finals since 2005 and winning its first playoff series since 2008.<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons have a 3 1\/2 game lead \u2014 four in the loss column \u2014 over the Celtics for the top seed in the East, and are five games ahead of the third-place Knicks.<\/p>\n<p><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"38829430\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2-drives-net-toronto-raptors-123657028.jpg\" alt=\"Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham (2) drives the ball against Toronto Raptors guard Ja'Kobe Walter (14) during a basketball game.\" class=\"wp-image-38829430\"  \/>Cunningham has the Pistons currently atop the Eastern Conference. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p>Detroit\u2019s odds to win the Eastern Conference have massively dropped since this development, though, with the Pistons now sitting at +700 at DraftKings.<\/p>\n<p>The Celtics (+160), Cavaliers (+330) and Knicks (+370) all sit well clear of them.<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham, in his fifth season, guided the Pistons to their first playoff appearance in six seasons last year, falling to the Knicks in six games in a tense first-round series.<\/p>\n<p>The Pistons last won a playoff series in 2008, which proved to be the last of six straight runs to to the Eastern Conference finals.<\/p>\n<p>They have lost five straight playoff series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pistons star Cade Cunningham suffered a \u201cmild\u201d collapsed lung that is expected to sideline him for an \u201cextended\u201d&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":667129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,909,188,6,11,66],"class_list":{"0":"post-667128","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cade-cunningham","10":"tag-detroit-pistons","11":"tag-nba","12":"tag-nba-playoffs","13":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116256636463640193","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=667128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/667128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=667128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=667128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=667128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}