Cade Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points, 5.6 rebounds and 9.9 assists per game this season.
Pistons All-Star guard Cade Cunningham has suffered a left lung pneumothorax (also known as a collapsed lung) and will be out at least two weeks, team officials announced today.
Cunningham’s collapsed lung injury is considered mild, per ESPN’s Shams Charania, and the team is reportedly optimistic Cunningham will be back in time for the start of the NBA Playoffs on April 18.
Pistons coach J.B. Bickerstaff is expected to address Cunningham’s injury before tonight’s game in Washington (7 ET, NBA League Pass).
The @DetroitPistons today announced the following medical update on guard Cade Cunningham: pic.twitter.com/BNUh9hlgT7
— Pistons PR (@Pistons_PR) March 19, 2026
Cunningham left Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Wizards with what was reported as back spasms.
Cunningham collided with Washington’s Tre Johnson while diving for a loose basketball with 7:44 left in the first quarter. He was in discomfort and left the game with 6:40 remaining in the first quarter.
The team said during the second quarter of that game that Cunningham would not return.
Cunningham is averaging 24.5 points and 9.9 assists for the Pistons, stellar numbers for a club that is on pace for its best season in nearly two decades. Only eight players in NBA history have finished a season averaging that many points and assists, and Cunningham would be the first to do so in a Detroit uniform.
The Pistons — who had listed Cunningham as out for Thursday’s game in Washington with a left back contusion — won’t start their playoff run until April 18 or 19, when the East quarterfinals begin.
Detroit (49-19) has a 3.5-game lead over the Boston Celtics for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pistons have 14 games left (including tonight’s against the Wizards), which are split evenly between games on the road and at Little Caesars Arena.
Cunningham has played in 61 games this season. A player must appear in 65 games to qualify for major postseason awards such as the Kia MVP and the All-NBA teams.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
