"Kind of devastating" - Cade Cunningham's brother gets honest about his sibling's reaction to losing Rookie of the Year to Scottie Barnes

The 2021 NBA draft class is shaping up to be one of the best in recent memory. It already features four All-Stars: Cade Cunningham, Evan Mobley, Alperen Sengun and Scottie Barnes.

The race for the 2021-22 NBA Rookie of the Year award was hotly contested, as Cunningham, Mobley and Barnes each looked to separate themselves. Ultimately, Barnes walked away with the award, with Mobley finishing second and Cunningham third.

Despite averages of 17.4 points, 5.6 assists and 5.5 rebounds per game as a rookie, Cunningham trailed the two forwards picked after him. After losing the award, Cade's brother, Cannen Cunningham, reflected on how tough his sibling took the loss in an interview with The Ringer on Thursday.

"Not winning Rookie of the Year was kind of devastating," Cannen said. "I think Scottie had a great year and Mobley had a great year, so not to (take) away from anybody else, but that was, from my perspective, that seemed like the first major setback that I really witnessed him have as a basketball player. ... (It) shook him up a little bit."

Fast forward to his fourth NBA season, Cade is the betting favorite to take home his first major individual award as a pro.

Cade Cunningham betting favorite to win Most Improved Player

Fueled by Cade Cunningham's efforts, the Detroit Pistons are playing their best basketball since the days of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton and Ben Wallace. On Wednesday, they defeated the Boston Celtics 117-97 to notch their eighth consecutive victory, their longest streak since the 2007-08 season.

Cunningham finished with a 21-point, 11-assist double-double to help Detroit to its 33rd win, already boasting its highest win count since 2018-19. This season, Cunningham has appeared in 54 games, averaging 25.7 ppg, 9.5 apg and 6.3 rpg, on 45.9% shooting and 36.3% from 3-point range.

His performance has Cunningham (-225) positioned as the odds-on favorite to win the NBA's 2024-25 Most Improved Player award, according to BetMGM. It also helps him that he is posting career highs in nearly every statistical category.