Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a collapsed lung and is expected to miss an extended period of time, sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Sources told Charania that the collapse of Cunningham’s lung is considered mild.
The Pistons, who entered Thursday with the best record in the Eastern Conference, are still gathering information on Cunningham’s condition and are unsure how long he will be sidelined, sources told Charania.
There is some optimism that Cunningham will be back in time for the start of the playoffs, which begin on April 18, according to sources.
Cunningham, who is among the leaders in the NBA MVP race, left Tuesday’s game against the Washington Wizards with what the team described as back spasms.
The two-time All-Star guard appeared to suffer an injury early in the first quarter while diving for a loose ball. He played for a few more minutes before being taken out midway through the quarter.
The Pistons (49-19), who play at Washington on Thursday, are 3½ games ahead of the surging Boston Celtics (46-23) atop the Eastern Conference standings.
Cunningham, 24, is averaging 24.5 points and 9.9 assists — the second most in the NBA — per game this season. He has played 61 games, which puts him just short of the 65-game threshold required to be eligible for the league’s regular-season awards like MVP, All-NBA teams and Defensive Player of the Year.
