The No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons was named MVP at the 2022 NBA Rising Star Challenge.
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The NBA’s 2022 All-Star Weekend got started on Friday night, first with the Celebrity Game and then with the Rising Stars Challenge. This year’s event was won by Team Barry, and No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham of the Detroit Pistons was named MVP.
There was a totally new format this time around. Unlike past years, which featured a regular game between Rookies and Sophomores, or Team USA vs. Team World, this year’s event was a mini-tournament between four different teams. NBA legends Rick Barry, Isiah Thomas, Gary Payton and James Worthy each drafted and coached a team of seven players. Rookies, sophomores and even G League Ignite players were included.
What’s more, instead of playing until the final buzzer, the teams played to a target score. In the first round, Team Isiah beat Team Worthy, 50-49, while Team Barry took down Team Payton, 50-48. Then, in the title game, Team Barry secured the trophy with a 25-20 win over Team Isiah.
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Cade Cunningham was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft less than a year ago, and the Detroit Pistons point guard already has his first title and MVP. OK, it’s just the Rising Stars Challenge, but it’s always fun to win, and Cunningham led Team Barry to victory on Friday night, earning MVP in the process.
He finished with five points, two rebounds and three assists in the championship game, which aren’t particularly impressive numbers until you consider that they were only playing to 25. So not only did he directly contribute to a third of his team’s points, but he also scored their final four points, including the game-winning free throw.
“[Our goal was] to win,” Cunningham said. “I feel like we had the team to do it, and we had to come out and prove ourselves and get the ‘ship. I’m glad we did that.”
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With Cunningham leading the way, Team Barry came out and played a much more organized form of basketball than we usually see in this event. They were running real plays and sitting down in actual stances on the defensive end. The strategy, which was clearly designed by the team’s GM and head coach, Rick Barry, paid off.
“I tried to get some diversification, get some size, get some guys who can shoot the ball and just play good basketball,” Barry said. “I’m proud of these guys, cause every one of them did a good job. It was so great to see them playing basketball. They really went out and played the way the game should be played.”
