- Maybe everybody thinks I'm all
this, and I'm the number one
guy, whatever, at this level.
But me, what's wrong with me
feeling like I'm even better
than what y'all are saying?
You know what I'm saying?
- Leads to the runout for Cunningham.
- Up top for Cunningham, and he puts it in with two hands.
- Cade Cunningham. Rises and rips.
- First question I had to ask for you.
And I saw this going through
and doing a little research,
and you bragged about it a little bit.
And I need one of myself too, but
I need to know the story of how you
started to cut hair and how that all
started and how many cuts can you do?
So go ahead.
Just run it, run through
it for me, please.
- So, um, I'd say it started
probably seventh grade is safe.
It was probably a little bit earlier
than that, but seventh grade is
safe. Um, yeah, it started, uh,
me and my homeboys we needed cuts.
Nobody trying to pay that 20
every time, especially in seventh grade.
Uh, yeah.
Well, I was trying to
get some money on my own.
So I started cutting hair
and I was horrible at first.
And shout out to my homeboys.
They, they, they had to fight for me
cause it was some bad cuts early on,
you know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying, you know
how to, you know how to cut then
it's just like riding a bike.
Once you learn it, it just applies.
So I can do all the cuts
now. I know how to fade. I know how to do all of that.
I don't do designs, though.
- I was gonna ask you, the little zigzag and all that.
OK.
- Nah, I ain't doing all that.
- Where do you think this
um, this confidence and maturity and,
um, like where did it start from with you?
Like, where did you think they came
from and how was it instilled in you?
- Um, I think the biggest thing, like,
I've been blessed to have people
in my life that have tried these
things before me, you know what I'm
saying? And, and were willing to
give me their knowledge about it.
And I think the best thing that I did
growing up was just listen to people
older. Having a big brother that was,
you know, in college, tried overseas.
Um, my dad, he went to college and had
an injury that ended his playing career.
So
it's been different things that
I've been able to see and hear about
growing up that, you know, I just tried
to apply to me, and I've been blessed
to be able to, you know, make it to
this point without any, any fault.
So yeah, I'll try to just keep a
level head. Like, you know, it's,
it's, I've seen my dad is, you know,
a perfect example of somebody that,
you know, had it going, and then
everything went away.
So having somebody like that as the head
of the household, you know, raising you just,
I'm blessed to have that for sure, man.
You know he gon' have you right.
- Thinking about mom,
pops and everybody like that.
Like did, how much does it mean?
Like what's the motivation
having them supporting you
like they are now,
um, to keep going further?
- Yeah.
It's, I mean, it's everything. They've
been here since, you know, the first
game, you know what I'm saying?
And before that, so, you know,
having people that, you know, really know
you and, you know, care about you
outside of the game is important.
And it definitely drives me.
I got my daughter, Riley, she,
you know what I'm saying,
she's growing up.
That's even more motivation for me.
So, um, it's exciting for sure.
I'm excited for it.
- Yeah.
Speaking about Riley,
like how his fatherhood been
for you?
And then also how's it, you know,
what, who is the father that
you envision yourself to be like
you're striving to be as well?
- I think the biggest thing is,
is instilling confidence, but
like, it's hard to word it.
I don't want to teach my,
my daughter happiness.
You know what I'm saying?
Like, like, I don't want it to feel like,
you know, everything is always all jolly.
Like, you know what I'm saying?
Everything's going to make you,
everything's going to be
the way you want it to be.
I feel like, you know, teaching people
right and wrong and, you know,
making people fight through adversity and
things like that, make people work for,
you know, a reward and things like that.
You know, those are the things that.
I'm excited to do. Like, I have a
problem saying no to her already,
so finding these type of things to do for her is going to be
tough for me because I would have
buy her everything already off the rip.
So it's tough, for sure.
- When was the moment that you
remember like, "Yo, I
fell in love with basketball.
Like, I really want to do this.
This is what I'm committed to doing."
- I would say probably going into
ninth grade is when it all clicked.
Like eighth grade was the last
time that I played football.
Um, and football, football was tough
just because, like, I love football,
but I love playing games for football.
Like, I'm not trying to
get out in that Texas sun.
Eventually I dropped football and then
my love for basketball doubled, tripled,
all that. - It brings me to another point, too.
Cuz you talked about coming into last
season, you know, sort of feeling like
you were a little bit overlooked in a way,
which I know may throw some people
off because the might look at mock drafts, but
you're, you're speaking to something else.
Can you talk about that too?
- Right.
And I seen, I seen people saying like,
like, "Bro, you're already No. 1, duh, duh, duh, duh."
And people have to realize,
like, it's all about perspective
though, at the same time.
So like, like, OK, I always
want to play it humble though,
you know what I'm saying?
Maybe, maybe everybody thinks I'm
all this and I'm the number one
guy or whatever at this level.
But me, what's wrong with me
feeling like I'm even better
than what y'all are saying?
You know what I'm saying?
Like, I want it to get to a point where
people watch full games,
OK,
and just because they know like, "Yeah,
he's one of one." And it's not
just cutting on a little highlight
tape, you know what I'm saying?
So I still felt like I was
underrated just because I didn't
really have people's attention.
People just kind of knew who I was.
- I mean, it's also, like, your ability
to want to be coached, right?
Like, uh, your high school
coaches have said that too.
It's just like accepting criticism, right?
I mean, you've you hear that from,
um, like the Tim Duncans and all the
other of the, of the greats that
they didn't mind being coached.
Um, was there, for you, like, how
did that also become, like,
comfortable with taking criticism from
coaches, trainers, whatever it is just
like, "Yo, this is the best for you.
We're looking out for you."
Like, how did that you get comfortable
with taking criticism as well?
Yeah, it started because my, my
family. Like my brother and sister,
they're telling me off the rip, like,
if I, if there's anything wrong
just with anything in life.
So if you are always
hearing that from them,
like whenever I hear from somebody
else, you know, outside, I'm not, I'm not
going to put too much weight on it, just
because it's normal to me. I've been blessed
to have big-time coaches, like Coach Boyle
at Montverde, like, he's the real deal.
I don't think there's ever been
a better high school than what he is.
So to have somebody like him, you know,
like, he's not afraid to coach anybody.
He just wants what's best for, he's
trying to, you know, make real
connections with you and help you.
Um, you know, it's easy to, it's easier
to get coached by guys after that.
Coach Mike at OSU, um, he was more
like, uh, just somebody that was like
a big brother in the coach's role.
Like, you could talk to him about
anything, you could connect with them.
If you don't like something,
you can tell him, he's going to
see what he can do to fix it.
But he always maintained leadership.
So
having guys like that around, you know,
growing up with coach like that, it's
like, it's easy for me to get coached
because I've been coached by a good coaches.
- Where else, any part of your game,
are you, like, proud that you've
seen the development and growth?
Um, last couple of years? It can be,
you can take it back how far you want,
but where are you really proud of and
you've made a lot of improvement in?
- Definitely my jump shot, for sure.
I feel like that's probably
the loudest point where, like,
you know, that's probably the
main one that pops out to the
screen, like, "Oh, he's shooting it a
lot better now." But it's been fun,
you know, just being able to
grow into more and more of a, a
primary ball-handler and creator.
Um, and I feel like that's the
thing that I think I've had the
most fun with them and enjoyed the
most about, like, this whole journey.
Getting to this point is like seeing
myself go from somebody that I was,
you know, A real life role guy and just
trying to, you know, set good screens and
rebound, get us, you know, just, just do
all the right plays to turn into the guy
where like, you know what I'm saying?
I'm trying to make every play now.
And, and I'm trying to, you
know, the responsibilities
just grew up more and more.
So that the thing that, you know,
I've been the most excited about,
and I'm excited to see how it looks
going forward, knowing the NBA and
just seeing how that grows, for sure.
- You leaving from, you know, the
local high school and going to Montverde,
like, that's a sacrifice in a sense, right?
Cuz you're leaving everything
you've known to go somewhere
you're not.
So, I mean, to that point, even like,
can you talk about the sacrifices
that you've made along this
basketball journey to get to this point now?
- Man, I think that was probably
the first big one was
leaving Bowie to go to Montverde..
Like, man, it's so crazy.
When I got out there—
so it was my junior year when I got
out there. I'm 16, and I turned 17 like a
couple months, or a couple weeks in.
And so, leaving everybody
you've ever known. Like, this is the first
time I haven't been around anybody.
There's nobody in the
whole state that I know.
So I'm kinda just going into the
situation just hoping for the best.
And mind you, this is what’s so crazy.
A lot of people probably wouldn't
believe this. Coach Boyle had
never even seen me play basketball
in person before I got there.
So I'm just going off the fact that the
assistant coach, Coach Rae, he's
seen me. And I'm going off the fact,
like, I think I'm nice.
So, you're gonna have to, you know
what I'm saying? You gonna have to
respect that either way. - Yeah. - So, I'm goin’ in,
you know what I'm saying?
And then back home, things just
started to, it felt like, crumble.
Like, whenever you're not around and
you're not there to see things happen
and you're just hearing it from afar,
it feels like everything's going bad.
I started having, you know what I'm saying,
deaths in the family and stuff, like—
and everything's hitting
me way harder whenever I'm, you
know, miles away from my fam.
So, it was tough for sure.
But
it’s crazy.
Like, I wanted to go home
so bad. I’m steady calling
my mom. I was like, “Mom,
just let me come home.
Please.”
Just, like, I'm begging her to
let me slide back to the crib. - Yeah.
But it's crazy how much it helped
me, and I'm glad I did it for sure.
And going into college
was so much easier.
cuz I was already used to
being on my own and trying
to make things happen for myself..
Clearly, like, Arlington and
your hometown meant a lot to you.
So, like, what—how did it also shape
you as just who you are as Cade?
- That's where everybody's
at. And what's crazy,
It's not even as much about
you know, visiting home. But it's
missing home and then trying to
still get in the gym every day
and put your work in and still
be first in every sprint and
still—you know what I'm saying?
Like, that's the
part that's tough for guys.
Whenever they get out to Montverde or
whatever, you know, that separation
gets tough and then, whenever things get hard
for you and you see some adversity,
you know, you start missing home.
That's whenever you usually get to
be at the crib and take some time
off, but you know, you're gone.
You're at Montverde. Just, you can't—
you don't really have it.
So,
you know, I didn't realize how much
I needed Arlington until I left.
And then I'm like— - That’s when you know. - It meant everything to me.
So, yeah, it saved me, man.
It made me who I am today.
I'm born and raised over there.
So, yeah.
- Yeah. - That’s home for sure.
- So, what I wanna know is your
mentality with picking the
spots and taking over games.
What is Cade’s mentality with
taking over games? - For me, every game I'm
trying to eat, you know what I'm saying?
Like, obviously I'm going into every
game wanting 50 or whatever, but
obviously game plans, things like that,
it's not as easy as that.
So, I know I'mma leave my mark
on every game and, like, that—I
go into every game knowing that's a
given. Like, I'm gonna do something,
you know what I'm saying?
Other teams gonna know why
they say what they say about me.
And every game, it just
felt like the first half would
slip away from it a little bit.
Like, I'm tryna make
things happen, whatever.
And the first half would slip, and
I'm like, “Oh, I gotta do some work
in the second.” Every time. And there
was some games where, you know, things
were going easy for me in the first
half or whatever, but yeah, it was—
- Yeah. - I wish I woulda turnt
up a little bit more.
And then the narrative
started going, whatever. You know, “He
only turn up for the second half. So, you know
how it go, but— - How did that approach,
like, get so instilled in you with,
like, doing what it takes to win?
Cuz it's hard.
Because sometimes, like you
said, you might be off, but you
know when to take over the game.
Sometimes you might be flowing.
You gotta know when to pick your spots
and everything. But to win the ballgame,
you have to do a lot of things to win.
So, like, how did you get to that point?
- I've think the big, I think the main
beginning for me was the Texas Titans.
I started playing
with them in fourth grade.
So, like, you know what I’m saying? We’re young when
we started this, and then we’re winning
games, and we were tough.
Like, we're—nationals, we're doing all
this stuff that, you know what I'm saying,
these young teams are doing or whatever.
And, you know, I think the biggest
thing for us was our togetherness.
Like, everybody knew the Titans,
their chemistry was on point.
No matter what, they're
gonna make plays for each other.
Like, they're
gonna get good shots.
Maybe they might not hit ‘em,
but they gonna make sure
they give each other good shots. - Yeah.
And so, playing in a system like that
since I was a young’un and then growing
up into that, and then I started
getting better and better and better.
Like, I was still used to
playing that type of basketball.
So, eventually it just carried
over. - I guess it leads into you
with your leadership as well, because
they also say that about you everywhere
you've been, whether it’s Montverde
or even, you know, Oklahoma State,
and even some of your AAU teammates.
It's always about, like, “He always
has a control over the game,” and
like, and they listen to you,
right?
So when you speak, a lot of your
teammates will make sure they trust you.
So, you think that also has
something to do with that?
With, like, how comfortable
you are with leadership?
- Yeah, definitely.
Definitely.
And I think that mainly helps
me with, like, whenever I'm new to
a room, I don't ever feel
like, you know, a room sways me into,
you know, going with the majority.
I feel like that's, that's the
main thing that my parents have,
you know, really instilled in me.
And then after a while, whenever my name
started to blow up and things like that,
I think the most important thing was
just not trying to force things on ‘em.
Like, I feel like a lot of times, you know,
somebody might be the most known or
the best player, and they try to force
leadership on guys and stuff like that.
And it's not—like, a lot of times,
dudes are like, “Bro, you just doin’
too much,” you know what I'm saying?
Maybe boost your head up or whatever.
So, I'm just trying to be natural.
I try to be me wherever I'm at.
And, you know, I know I can hoop.
So, in practice, you have to see me anyways,
so.
And I think that as time goes
on, people just, you know, naturally
start to gravitate towards me.
And, you know, I try to do
what's best for the squad.
I got my faults too, but I think that's
why not, you know, trying to force
leadership helps because whenever I
make a mistake, you're not gonna
wanna bash me for it. You gonna wanna
help me just like I wanna help you.
So, I think that's probably the main thing.
I think that's why my
teams have been pretty good. - That’s awesome.
Did some of that have to do
with just the 2020 class in
itself? Like, because of how
talented that, you know—
at least we view it and I view
it—as deep as it goes,
do you think some of that also had to do
with your class you were in as well?
- Definitely.
I think we—I'm so glad
that I’m in the 2020 class,
just because of the way that we pushed
each other. Like, in camps, you
know, everything. We just, we pushed
each other to a different level that—
like, we were friendly with each other.
We had fun, but I think you
can ask anybody that ran camps
with us or anything.
We never, we never—you know, say if
we were scrimmaging or whatever,
we never played friendly.
Like, we were always pushing each
other, we were always competing.
And I think that's
why we've, in the 2020 class,
we all went to college and we performed
well, you know what I'm saying?
People are starting to see what we do at
the next level, just because, like, we've
been competing hard for a long time.
So, it's carried over. Like, those things
don't happen by accident. - The aspirations
along this whole journey, right?
You've had ‘em, but now being this
close to, like, what is the NBA player
that you're hoping to become? - The best.
I'm tryna be that dude. I wanna
be the best point guard—if they
list me as a point guard—of all
time. The best whatever you wanna call it.
Yeah, I wanna be him. Like,
I want, whenever dudes think of
NBA, they think Cunningham is, yeah, one
of the ones. And, yeah, I'm excited for it.
I think the biggest thing is, like, you
know, I've already went through the
high school thing, college thing.
That's like the, you know, the amateur,
you know, amateur basketball or whatever.
And being able to see myself next
to No. 1 ranked or, you know
what I'm saying, whatever, was cool.
But now that, you
know what I'm saying, I really get to
play against dudes that I idolized growing
up, or, you know, just been studying
their games or whatever, having to
be able to compete against them.
I'm excited.
It's gonna be fun for sure.
And then, and then, now my name is—
I hopped into this league.
My name is, like, it's hot, but
it's nothing compared to some of
these dudes, so I’ll really turn it up. You feel me? So, it’s lit.
- Yeah, nah, that's for sure.