5 Things You Might Not Know About Cade Cunningham

The 2021 NBA Draft airs tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. The Detroit Pistons are expected to take freshman guard Cade Cunningham from Oklahoma State University with the number one overall pick.

Here are five things you might not know about Cade Cunningham.

1. Highly Recruited: Cunningham chose Oklahoma State over many other schools that recruited him. Finalists for the star included Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Florida and Washington. Cunningham was the top recruit ranked by ESPN, USA Today, 247 Sports, Rivals and MaxPreps.

Cunningham became one of 12 players to get a grade of 0.9999 or higher from 247 Sports since 2003 and is the highest-rated PG by the site.

Cunningham won the 2020 Naismith High School Player of the Year Award after his senior season.

2. Freshman Season At Oklahoma State: As a freshman at Oklahoma State, Cunningham posted an average of 20.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists across 27 games. He scored less than 10 points in only one contest. His season-high was 40 points and he posted two double doubles.

He ranked first in scoring for all Big 12 players. He was the second-highest scoring freshman in the nation and 20th highest scoring player overall in the season.

3. Awards, Fun Stat Lines: Cunningham was named an AP All-American, the first in school history, and named the top freshman in NCAA Basketball for his 2020-2021 season.

Cunningham was also a finalist as player of the year, named a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, John Wooden Award and Bob Cousy Award.

He became the fourth player in the Big 12 to be named the Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year in the same season. With the awards, Cunningham joined Marcus Smart, Michael Beasley and Kevin Durant.

The Oklahoma State star was the third to post an impressive stat line of 20 points, 6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.25 steals and 0.75 blocks per game. Cunningham joins Dwyane Wade and Evan Turner as the third player to post the state over the last 20 seasons.

Related Link: NBA Draft Lottery, Detroit Pistons Take Home Top Selection Plus Full Results And Analysis

4. Betting Favorite: When the Pistons were awarded the first overall pick in the NBA Draft, Cunningham was the consensus pick by analysts and also a heavy betting favorite.

DraftKings Inc DKNG listed odds of Cunningham to go first overall at -10,000, meaning a person would have to bet $10,000 to win $100. The odds have fluctuated since then and were sitting around -8,000 prior to Thursday. The odds have been pulled on DraftKings with Cunningham said to be the first pick by sources.

While the Pistons could get better with Cunningham on the roster, sportsbooks don’t expect them to contend in the 2021-2022 season. The Pistons are listed with odds of +50,000 to win the next NBA Championship, paying out a profit of $500 on a $1 bet.

5. Endorsements: As the number one overall pick of the draft, companies have been circling Cunningham’s name to land deals. Nike Inc NKE landed a multiple-year deal representing the largest amount paid for the 2021 class, according to ESPN.

“More than anything, they show that athletes are more than just athletes,” Cunningham told ESPN.

He also tested Puma, Li-Ning, Converse and Adidas shoes during pre-draft workouts according to ESPN.

Other endorsement deals will likely pour in after the NBA Draft. ESPN reports Cunningham has unannounced agreed deals with companies in the plant-based food, energy drink, cryptocurrency, trading card, memorabilia and photo-sharing app sectors.