The Detroit Pistons guard Cade Cunningham is scheduled to have season-ending surgery on his left shin, sources confirmed on Monday. Cunningham was the number one overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
Sidelined since November 9, Cunningham has consulted with multiple doctors over the past few weeks. Together with the Pistons and his representatives at Excel Sports, the player elected to undergo surgery. While it will result in him being sidelined for the remainder of the season, the procedure is expected to have him fully recovered for the start of the 2023-24 season.
After taking a month to rest his shin and see if any improvements would arise, it became clear to Cunningham that the season-ending surgery would provide him the optimal recovery.
This season, the 21-year-old has averaged 19.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 6 assists in 12 games. This is an improvement on the 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 5.6 assists that he averaged during his rookie season when he was third in the Rookie of the Year vote.
Currently, the Pistons are bottom of the Eastern Conference standings after losing three consecutive games.
