Pistons star Cade Cunningham shows some love for Mavericks guard and former Montverde Academy teammate Ryan Nembhard

It has Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Famer and Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd among the group that sees Cunningham as a game-changer and a player that should be in discussions for the Most Valuable Player of the year award.

The Detroit Pistons (21-5) travel to American Airlines Center to face the Dallas Mavericks (10-17) on Thursday night in NBA action.

Despite the rough start, rookie Cooper Flagg has been playing extremely well. Pistons' star Cade Cunningham has taken notice.

The Detroit Pistons are the second-best team in the NBA and they're the best team in the Eastern conference. The closest team to the Pistons in the East is the new NBA Cup champion New York Knicks at 18-7. Detroit has stylistic flaws in their game, but few contending teams play a unified brand of basketball on both sides of the court like Detroit.

The Detroit Pistons are ranked as high as the No. 2 team in the NBA, according to many of the biggest sports media outlets.

Ahead of the Pistons' road game against the Mavericks, Cade Cunningham and Daniss Jenkins were both honored by the Texas high schools they attended.

This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/pistons/onsi as Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons make progress in NBA Power Rankings. The Detroit Pistons are the second team to reach the 20-win mark for the season after their recent streak of victories.

Here are three needs for the Detroit Pistons − and the potential fits to solve those issues − nearly 6 weeks before Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline 2026.