NBA DRAFT

July 29, 2021

Cade Cunningham

Q. Just start by talking about what you'll bring to the Pistons.

CADE CUNNINGHAM: What's going on, everybody? I'm so excited just to have this hat on right now. Still pretty surreal to me. But I know how much responsibility comes with being the No. 1 pick. I know how much responsibility a city will put on the guy that they take No. 1. But I'm more than excited to take on those tasks and try to deliver to the city of Detroit.

I'm just happy to be here, thankful for the opportunity and ready to get started.

Q. Obviously you came here tonight knowing you'd be the top pick. Can you explain what it's like to hear your name called No. 1 overall by the Commissioner and I'm sure a lifelong dream?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: Yeah, it's crazy because I've been trying to wrap my head around it for a while, just the fact of getting drafted. But like you said, once you hear that name, it's like all the plans that you made beforehand, all that is out the window. All those emotions hit you again.

It was surreal for me. I'm glad I had my family all there for it. I've got all my family up in the stands. To be able to experience that with all of them, I'm happy.

Q. Just with the young core that the Pistons have built, last year especially in the draft, what do you think you bring to that mix, and what's your expectation for this year?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: Last year Detroit had a great draft I feel like. Getting two All-Rookie (players) is huge. It's a great young core that they already have, along with Killian Hayes, who coming off of injury, he's going to have a big year this year.

I'm excited to be able to join that young core and grow together with them. I think that's the biggest thing. I want to hop right in and contribute to the mentality that they go into games with. They want to defend, they want to play hard and that's what I want to come in and provide for them, as well. I don't want to take a step back from the mentality that the team has. Detroit Pistons has always been about grit and working for everything that they have.

You look back on the Bad Boys teams, that's what made those teams great. I want to try to bring that mentality to the team. I know that they already have young guys that have that mentality, and I feel like me just adding on will only take us to the next step.

Q. I'm going to throw you a little bit of a curveball.

CADE CUNNINGHAM: Let's see.

Q. Somewhere down the road, a year, two years, 10 years this is going to be remembered that Russell Westbrook got traded to the Lakers or the night Cade Cunningham got drafted by the Pistons. Which is it going to be and why?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: I think it will be Cade Cunningham's night, that he got drafted by the Pistons, because when people look back, that will be the start of whenever the Pistons restored their franchise and brought greatness back to the city. That's my whole goal stepping into Detroit, to restore that city. They've already had championship teams. They've already witnessed greatness. I want to be able to bring that back to the city.

Q. What's the most important thing your father and your older brother taught you that you will take into the league with you?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: My pops, I mean, he is the hardest worker I've ever met in my life. He's wired to work -- to wake up at 3:45 every morning, no matter if it's a holiday, no matter what's going on, he's ready to get up and work. That's a fact. I've never seen him oversleep. I've never seen him complain about working. So to have that as the head of your household, I mean, you can only take from that and learn from it and apply it to your life.

I know how much hard work can bring you, and to be in this position now is a testament to that.

My brother has pushed me crazy, just like my pops. He wants greatness out of me. He's pushed me to be great since I was a kid. He's never taken it easy on me. He's always kept it real with me. That's why those two guys are the biggest influences in my life, because they've always kept it real with me and they've always been there to support me.

Q. Arlington Texas, Bowie High School. Can you talk about what it means to come out of Arlington, and who are you most excited to face in the NBA?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: I mean, coming out of Arlington, I'm very prideful about my city. I love my city to the end of me. I'm born and raised there. I've learned so much there. All my friends grew up there. I've had ups, downs, everything in Arlington, Texas. That's a place I'll always call home and will always be grateful for.

You know, in the NBA I want to carry that same Arlington swag and step in with the same mentality that somebody from the DFW has.

I feel like stepping onto the court with the greats that I've watched for a long time, the LeBrons, Giannis -- I mean, Giannis is great right now, but the LeBrons, the Kawhis, the guys that have been in the league for a while that have been killing, I'm excited to be able to step on the court and see them in person and learn from them and take as much as I can from them.

And then the Giannises and the young guys, Lukas, Ja Morants, all those guys in the league right now giving the NBA a spark and the young core, I'm excited to try to add onto that and be the next guy that's coming in and making a real impact.

Q. What's your quintessential Detroit Pistons memory from growing up in Austin and in Oklahoma?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: Well, my brother played for Larry Brown at SMU. I've heard plenty of stories about the Bad Boys teams and things like that. I was young for those teams. But I've talked to LB. I've heard stories from my brother about those teams and things like that.

So yeah, I was already kind of hip to what they had going on. But I'll just say being able to finally meet Larry Brown, somebody that won an NBA championship for the organization and to be in his presence for three years for my brother's college career, the last three years, to be in his presence and learn as much as I learned from him was a blessing.

Q. You see that this is obviously a very young team. They had a lot of rookies last year and some other young guys and you kind of fit right in with that. Does that kind of add to the energy knowing that you're stepping into a situation where you have a lot of guys your age obviously with the same goal and in the same situation as you?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: Yeah, it definitely adds a lot of energy to it. But I think more than anything it makes everybody know that we're going to have to work a lot harder, being young guys in the NBA. No vet is going to want to lose to a young team like Detroit Pistons.

I know me, I know the team, I know we're ready for that challenge. I know we're ready to step into any game and show people that we're really trying to restore the Pistons and bring that greatness back to Detroit.

Q. What were your impressions of Dwane Casey and Troy Weaver when you first met them? You mentioned restore. That's something Troy tells us all the time. What did you take away from those talks?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: More than anything, they're locked in and they're stuck on restoring them. I heard that so many times throughout my visit in Detroit, and it stuck with me just because it makes sense.

Seeing the two guys that are leading that organization as far as the head coach and general manager having that type of motivation to bring the team back, I mean, I know it's their job. I know that technically they're supposed to feel that way. But to really feel the genuine feel that I had from them, it meant a lot to me and it gave me a different confidence going in because I know I'm going to be in a good situation.

Q. You mentioned playing with Killian Hayes. How do you think Dwane Casey will use both of you in facilitation roles?

CADE CUNNINGHAM: I think me stepping in will help Killian a lot and I think Killian will help me a whole lot. I feel like we'll take a lot of pressure off each other. Both of us are capable of being primary ball handlers and both of us are capable of playing off the ball and making things happen off the ball.

I feel like it will be a good mix. I feel like it will bring a lot of versatility to our backcourt. We're both big, we're both strong and we're both playing under control. I feel like it will be a different look from a backcourt, and I think we'll be successful.