On Friday, Cade Cunningham became the first All-NBA player in Oklahoma State’s history.
Cunningham, who recently wrapped up his fourth NBA season, was named to the All-NBA Third Team after averaging 26.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 9.1 assists in the regular season and leading the Detroit Pistons to their first playoff series since 2019.
Cunningham’s inclusion on the All-NBA Third Team also put a nice chunk of change in his pocket. According to ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Cunningham’s five-year rookie extension goes from being worth about $224 million to about $269 million. For next season alone, Cunningham is set to make $7.7 million more now that he is an All-NBA performer.
The impact of All-NBA pic.twitter.com/0vvXxWxO9K
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) May 23, 2025
The No. 1 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cunningham led the Pistons to a 44-38 regular season record just a year removed from finishing 14-68. Detroit earned the 6 seed in the NBA Playoffs and played the New York Knicks in the first round. The Pistons took the Knicks, who are playing in the Eastern Conference Finals, to six games where Cunningham averaged 25 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.7 assists in his first playoff series.
He scored at least 21 points in every game in the series against the Knicks, including a 33-point, 12-rebound outing in a Game 2 win. He also had a 25-point, 10-rebound, 10-assist triple-double in Game 4.
Cunningham was a finalist for the NBA’s most improved player award (an award that Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels won). Cunningham was also an All-Star for the first time.
He spent the 2020-21 season in Stillwater with the Cowboys. Cunningham was a consensus All-American and won the Wayman Tisdale Award, given to the nation’s top freshman. He was the fourth player in Big 12 history to win the league’s Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year awards in the same season.
Cunningham averaged 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 27 games as a Cowboy. He led the Pokes to a 21-9 record and to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. It was the first time OSU made it to the second round since 2015.
