Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham is a difficult matchup according to Ausar Thompson

In his first four seasons with the Detroit Pistons, point guard Cade Cunningham has shown the ability to impact the basketball game in many facets. In fact, Cunningham has grown into one of the more well-rounded players in the NBA, and right now he is on the precipice of becoming a bonafide superstar. 

Within the confines of Little Caesar’s Arena, Pistons forward Ausar Thompson has an opportunity to observe Cunningham’s development up close and personal, and the third-year lockdown defender offered a glowing evaluation of what makes Cunningham such a tough puzzle to solve for defenders.

“If you ask him how tall is, I swear he won’t say, but I swear he’s like 6-8, 6-7 or 6-8,” Thompson said on the Young Man and the Three podcast recently. “He’s so strong, that’s what people don’t understand. I played ones with him for the first time before last year while I was ramping up my process, and it was ones from the top of the key and you have five seconds. I will never forget– I was skinnier back then– but he posted me up from the top of the key, from the three-point line all the way under the basket, then I fouled him. Then he went and did the same thing. If you stop him with his face forward, he can just get to something else. His game is so, he has so many things he can do, so there’s not really one way to stop him, and you have to study him and learn every way to stop him. I don’t think you can.”

As a defensive specialist in his own right, Thompson provided a look into what other NBA defenders are in store for this season when it comes to containing Cunningham. 

By this point, Cunningham has established himself as a triple-double threat on any given night, and his command of the game gives him so many options that he can check to when in possession of the ball. So, if Thompson struggles to lock down Cunningham during practice, just imagine the troubles that other NBA point guards are going through on a nightly basis when facing Detroit. 

How does Thompson approach his defensive-first role?

Throughout the podcast with his twin brother Amen, who plays for the Houston Rockets, Ausar described the approach and mentality that he possesses when on the basketball court. According to Thompson, he keeps a high standard for himself, one that allows him to put the clamps on any scorer that the opposing team trots out. And at 6-7, 215 pounds, Thompson has the physical makeup to guard virtually any player in the NBA, so his complimentary evaluation of Cunningham’s versatile skill set goes a long way in describing just how talented Detroit’s All-Star point guard is. 

With Thompson and Cunningham continuing to grow together, the Pistons have a loaded lineup full of talented, young players who now have a taste of what the NBA postseason is like. Look for the Cunningham-Thompson tandem to play a key role in the Pistons’ conquest to make the playoffs for consecutive seasons during the 2025-26 campaign.

For more information on the latest Detroit Pistons team or player news, follow @EricJRutter on X for continued basketball coverage.