Pistons' Cade Cunningham Says 'I'm Right There' in Young Face of the NBA Conversation

Detroit Pisons star Cade Cunningham says he believes he's "right there" in conversations about who should be the young face of today's NBA.

"I'm not trying to push my case right now, I'm not trying to knock anybody else's case right now. I think, at the end of the day, everyone's entitled to their own opinion," Cunningham told ESPN's Shams Charania (3:15 mark.)

"You get to watch all of us play, and figure it out for yourself."

When asked what he hoped to accomplish in the NBA, Cunningham also told Charania, "I want to be the best player in the world."

Cunningham earned his first career All-Star nod this spring after averaging 26.1 points, 9.1 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 70 games.

The Pistons meanwhile added 30 wins to last spring's franchise-worst total, going from a league-worst 14-68 record to playoff contention in one of the best single-season improvements in NBA history.

Cunningham could potentially add a Most Improved Player award to the accolades he's collected during what might be considered a breakout fourth season. But the best way the former No. 1 pick could further his case as the face of the league is by leading the Pistons on a playoff run.

That would require powering Detroit past the New York Knicks, who finished the campaign as the No. 3 seed in the East but only added one win to last season's total despite loading up this offseason with the trades for Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges.

The Knicks also finished their season series against the Pistons 1-3 thanks to three straight losses against Detroit, most recently conceding a 115-106 defeat last week during which Cunningham posted 36 points at Little Caesars Arena.

Cunningham will look to replicate that performance during the playoffs at Madison Square Garden when the Pistons and Knicks tip off Game 1 Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.