Detroit — Cade Cunningham put on one of the greatest playoff performances in franchise history Wednesday night.
He led the Detroit Pistons to a 116-109 Game 5 win over the Orlando Magic inside Little Caesars Arena. He scored a franchise playoff-record 45 points on 13-of-23 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 on 3-point shooting.
His historic performance helped the Pistons stave off elimination and force Game 6 on Friday night at Kia Center, and drew high praise from, among others, Detroit native and Fab Fiver Jalen Rose. After the game, the Michigan alumnus took to X to declare that Cunningham has officially etched his name in the NBA’s GOAT list.
Rose posted, “For us Detroit fans tonight….All-time GOAT list is MJ (Michael Jordan), Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar), Cade…….”
For us Detroit fans tonight….All time GOAT list is MJ, Kareem, Cade……
— Jalen Rose (@JalenRose) April 30, 2026
Naming Cunningham as the third-best player in NBA history illustrated Rose’s excitement after the Game 5 victory. However, it was also an indication of how Rose’s mood in the series has shifted, giving him renewed hope the Pistons could complete the comeback from a 3-1 deficit.
After the Pistons lost Game 4 to the Magic 113-105 on Saturday, Rose expressed on ESPN’s Inside the NBA that he felt like crying over Detroit’s inadequate performance at the beginning of the best-of-seven first-round series.
To hold off the Magic, the Pistons needed each one of Cunningham’s 45 points. Paolo Banchero carried much of the offensive load for the Magic and did everything possible to help the franchise get its first playoff series win since 2010.
Banchero led the Magic with 45 points on 17-of-31 shooting from the field, 6-of-11 from behind the arc. He scored 18 points in the fourth quarter. Banchero’s late-game heroics helped the Magic trail by three points (112-109) with one minute left. However, on the Pistons’ next offensive possession, Cunningham’s stepback mid-range jumper over Desmond Bane put the game away.
Banchero and Cunningham became the first No. 1 picks to score 40 or more points in the same postseason game since Allen Iverson and Shaquille O’Neal did so in the 2001 NBA Finals.
“(I just came in with) a ‘never die’ mentality. I just wanted to have controlled aggression all night and make sure they felt me,” Cunningham said. “I don’t want the season to end right now, so I have to put it all on the line.”
NBA Playoffs, first round: No. 8 Magic vs. No. 1 Pistons
Magic lead series, 3-2
Game 1: Magic 112, Pistons 101
Game 2: Pistons 97, Magic 83
Game 3: Magic 113, Pistons 105
Game 4: Magic 94, Pistons 88
Game 5: Pistons 116, Magic 109
Game 6: at Orlando, Friday, Kia Center (Amazon Prime)
x-Game 7: at Detroit, Sunday, May 3 TBD (TBD)
x-If necessary
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Jalen Rose places Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham on his GOAT list