What Has Cunningham Injury Done to Pistons NBA Title Odds?

• Cade Cunningham is out indefinitely after suffering a collapsed lung
• The Pistons star will miss at minimum eight games, which caused Detroit’s Title odds to lengthen
• See the updated Pistons NBA Title odds at Kalshi below, plus find out if they’re worth a wager at their new price

Some people just can’t have nice things. That’s how Detroit sports fans must be feeling this morning after news broke that Pistons star Cade Cunningham has suffered a collapsed lung. Detroit enters the day with a 3.5-game lead atop the Eastern Conference standings, but the Pistons championship price tag has taken a major hit at prediction markets.

Detroit Pistons NBA Title Odds

Prediction Markets

NBA TItle Odds

Learn more about Prediction Markets

Kalshi

Oklahoma City

39%

San Antonio

16%

Boston

15%

Denver

8%

Cleveland

6%

New York

6%

Los Angeles L

5%

Detroit

4%

Minnesota

4%

Houston

2%

Predict

Kalshi is now giving Detroit just a 4% chance in the NBA title odds, which is the equivalent of pricing them at +2400 to win it all in traditional sports betting terms. The Pistons were as short as +1800 yesterday morning, and were listed as low as +1240 a month ago.

There’s no official word on how long Cunningham will miss, but he isn’t expected to suit up for at least two weeks, during which Detroit plays eight times. If you’re looking for a silver lining, the collapsed lung is of the mild variety, and the Pistons schedule isn’t overly difficult down the stretch. They’ve performed admirably in games their star guard has sat so far this season, posting a 5-2 mark.

Pistons Can’t Compete for the NBA Title Without Cunningham

The salt on the wounds for Cunningham is that he was among the top contenders in the NBA MVP odds before the injury, but needs to play four more times to reach the minimum 65-game threshold to be considered for the award. The Pistons have 14 contests remaining, meaning he can only afford to miss 10 games if he wants to stay in MVP contention.

That of course is secondary to the bigger issue, which is how will Detroit stay competitive without their star. Cunningham is the heart and soul of the Pistons offense, and Detroit lacks a true secondary scorer to pick up the slack. Sure, Jalen Duren averages 19 points down the middle, but his success is predicated on one-on-on matchups, with Cunningham drawing the bulk of the defensive attention. That’s a luxury he’ll no longer have.

Cunningham leads the team in points, assists and free throw attempts, while dominating usage. Without him, Detroit will have to rely on a combination of Daniss Jenkins, Marcus Sasser and Caris LeVert at the point, which isn’t striking much fear into the opposition. Fortunately, they defend exceptionally well, and will need to lean into that suffocating defense to win games.

The Pistons currently boast the second best defensive rating in the NBA. Their offensive efficiency dips by over 6 points per game without Cunningham, so it’s paramount they keep up the intensity in their own end to stay competitive.

Detroit is not a title contender without Cade, but that doesn’t mean they should be forgotten about in the championship conversation. There’s early optimism that Cunningham will return before the postseason, and the Pistons soft schedule might allow them to maintain their top spot in the East.

Worst case scenario they drop to the second or third seed, but Detroit has excelled away from home all season, and can win a playoff round or two on the road if need be.

There’s Value on Detroit Right Now

No team in the East has fewer road losses than the Pistons, while only Oklahoma City and San Antonio have more victories away from home.

At the time of writing, Detroit now has longer championship odds than fellow East contenders Boston, New York and Cleveland, and I think that’s a mistake.

Pistons Record Without Cade Cunningham This Season

I don’t expect the Pistons to surrender top spot in the conference, making them a value in the Title odds market. Of Detroit’s final 14 games, only six are against teams holding down a playoff spot. Five of the games are versus teams ranked 10th or worse in their respective conference, and three of the outings are against teams that will be incentivized to lose to maintain their lottery position.

I mentioned the Pistons were 5-2 without Cade so far in 2025-26, and that record includes a 5-1 mark versus non playoff teams. When Cunningham comes back, anyone sitting with a +2400 ticket on Detroit to win it all is going to feel very good.