Cade Cunningham will have to wait another week to learn his All-Star fate.
The blossoming Detroit Pistons star fell short of the votes needed to be named a starter in the 2025 NBA All-Star game, scheduled for next month at Chase Center in San Francisco. Cunningham wasn’t among the top vote-getting guards in the Eastern Conference, finishing tied for fifth in the tally that combines fan, player and media votes. The final results were revealed live on TNT on Thursday night.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson was the first starter announced by TNT’s Kenny Smith, followed by Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell. Not only did Cunningham miss out on making the top two, he failed to make the top four, with Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball finishing third (with a weighted score of 3, thanks to winning the fan vote despite finishing third in the player vote and seventh in the media vote), and Atlanta’s Trae Young finishing fourth (5). Cunningham and Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard finished fifth (5.25), with the Pistons guard fifth in the player vote, sixth in the fan vote and fourth in the media vote.
THE BONA FIDES:Detroit Pistons vouch for Cade Cunningham’s All-Star candidacy: ‘He’s been spectacular’
How the NBA All-Stars are selected
The All-Star reserves, selected by the NBA’s 30 head coaches, will be revealed next Thursday. The starters are selected by weighing the fan, player and media votes. Fan votes account for 50% of the score, and players and media each account for 25%.
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2025 NBA All-Star format
The two top guards and three top frontcourt players in each conference qualify as “starters,” though the league will play the game as a mini-tournament on Feb. 16 featuring three eight-player teams of NBA All-Stars and one squad from Feb. 14’s “Rising Stars” tournament. The NBA starters and reserves will be distributed among the three teams in a Feb. 6 draft by TNT broadcasters Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal. All three had Cunningham as an All-Star in their projected reserve roster list shown by TNT on Thursday night.
2025 NBA All-Star starters
Filling out the East lineup: New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokoumpo and Boston’s Jason Tatum.
For the West, Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the backcourt starters, with Denver’s Nikola Jokić, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and the Lakers’ LeBron James in the frontcourt.
Cade Cunningham’s All-Star résumé
The 6-foot-6 Cunningham is in the midst of a career season, averaging 24.6 points, 9.4 assists, 6.4 rebounds and nearly a full block and steal per game. His profile has risen with the Pistons, who are 23-21 and sixth in the Eastern Conference playoff race after finishing a franchise-worst 14-68 last season. Cunningham has recently made appearances on ESPN and TNT, and
received All-Star support from O’Neal.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at [email protected]. Follow him on X @omarisankofa.
