Not since Grant Hill. Not since Michael Jordan. Not since Magic Johnson. The superlatives you can heap upon Cade Cunningham are numerous. He’s had a fantastic rookie season, and as he continued to produce, the names associated with his feats have gotten mor impressive.
And yet ...
And yet, he will certainly not be named Rookie of the Year.
I long ago made peace with this fact. If I had a vote, I would have cast it for Cade. At the same time, I can acknowledge that the first overall pick from the Pistons started slow after missing training camp and preseason with injury, and that the rookie campaigns of Scottie Barnes and Evan Mobley are stellar.