Pistons' Cade Cunningham gets major awards update amid late-season injury

TL;DR

Cade Cunningham returns to the Detroit Pistons after an 11-game absence due to a collapsed lung. The Pistons, now the Eastern Conference's top seed, will begin their playoff run at home on Sunday.

Key points

Cade Cunningham returns after an 11-game absence
Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung on March 17
Pistons are the Eastern Conference's top seed
Pistons will start playoffs at home on Sunday
First time Pistons are top seed since 2007

Detroit PistonsCade CunninghamNBA PlayoffsCharlotte Hornets

Pistons' Cade Cunningham gets major awards update amid late-season injury originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The good news keeps coming for the Detroit Pistons.

Detroit, the Eastern Conference's top seed for the first time since 2007, opens the playoffs at home on Sunday against either the Charlotte Hornets or the Orlando Magic.

In addition, the team's star point guard Cade Cunningham is back following an 11-game absence after he suffered a collapsed lung on March 17.

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Cunningham and the Pistons learned Thursday that the two-time All-Star will be eligible for All-NBA honors and other postseason awards -- like MVP -- even though he did not meet the NBA's 65-game threshold for consideration.

That's because the NBA granted Cunningham and Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic a special waiver under the Extraordinary Circumstances Challenge that will permit their consideration.

ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news that will be welcome in both Detroit and Los Angeles' camps.

Cunningham played 64 games this season and led the Pistons in scoring at 23.9 points per game. He placed second in the NBA at 9.9 assists per game and was a key cog in Detroit's second-ranked defense.