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Cade Cunningham just made himself an extra $45 million.
Cunningham was officially named third-team All-NBA on Friday, May 23, before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
It means Cunningham’s five-year, $224 million contract extension signed in July 2024 has ballooned to $269 million over five years.
The All-NBA honor puts a golden stamp on the breakout season for the 23-year-old Cunningham, in which he earned an All-Star berth and led the Detroit Pistons to their best season in 17 years.
The first team consists of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Denver’s Nikola Jokic, Boston’s Jayson Tatum and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell. The first four of those players were unanimous first-teamers, with Mitchell receiving 61 first-place votes.
The second team features Minnesota’s Anthony Edwards, the L.A. Lakers’ LeBron James, Golden State’s Stephen Curry, Cleveland’s Evan Mobley and New York’s Jalen Brunson.
In addition to Cunningham, the third team features New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Indiana’s Tyrese Haliburton, Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams and the L.A. Clippers’ James Harden.
Cunningham was named on 99 of 100 ballots; he received six first-place votes, 50 second-place votes and 43 third-place votes, for a total of 223 points, the top vote-getter on the third team and nine points behind second-teamer Brunson. Free Press Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa II voted Cunningham to the second team on his official ballot cast immediately after the regular season.
All five first-teamers were named on every ballot, and Brunson, Curry, Edwards and James were also named on every ballot. Mobley was named on 96 ballots, Towns on 92, Williams on 65, Harden on 60 and Haliburton on 57.
It was a career year for Cunningham, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick out of Oklahoma State, who averaged 26.1 points, 9.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds per game to firmly establish himself among the top guards in the NBA. The Pistons finished 44-38 — tying their best record since 2007-08 — and snapped a 17-year streak without a playoff win.
Cunningham averaged 25 points on 42.6% shooting, 8.7 assists (to 5.3 turnovers) and 8.3 rebounds in the six-game first-round playoff series loss to the New York Knicks, but helped the Pistons steal two road wins, stopping the franchise’s NBA-record 15-game playoff losing streak.
He’s the first Piston to make an All-NBA roster since Blake Griffin was named third-team All-NBA in 2018-19, which was the last time the team made the playoffs until this season.
Cade Cunningham max contract increases with All-NBA nod
Cunningham is due for a massive raise next season, which will be the first season of the maximum rookie extension he signed last summer. His five-year, $224 million contract — 25% of the NBA cap in Year 1 — will increase to 30% of the cap because of the “Derrick Rose” rule, which a player qualifies for if they make an All-NBA team before the extension kicks in.
It bumps the total value of Cunningham’s max contract to $269 million, a $45 million increase in all, or $9 million per year on average. That’s an increase from $44.8 average annual value to $53.8 million.
Cunningham’s starting salary in 2025-26 will increase from $38.6 million to $46.4 million.
Cunningham made $45.6 million over his four-year rookie contract.
He was the first Pistons draft pick to sign a max rookie extension with the team since Andre Drummond signed did so in 2016 for five years and $127 million.
Pistons cap space affected by Cade Cunningham contract
Cunningham’s All-NBA nod reduces the Pistons’ cap space in the 2025 offseason from around $27 million to roughly $19 million.
The Pistons have enough money and resources to bring back some of their veterans, with Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dennis Schröder and Paul Reed all entering unrestricted free agency. It’s ultimately a good problem to have, but it will make navigating their cap down the road a little tricker as center Jalen Duren, guard Jaden Ivey and other young players become eligible for their own rookie extensions.
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