Breaking: Pistons Reveal Cade Cunningham Out With Collapsed Lung

A potentially devastating development for the Eastern Conference leading Detroit Pistons, as they have revealed that Cade Cunningham has been diagnosed with a collapsed lung.

Official announcement from the Pistons on Cade Cunningham:

He has a left collapsed lung and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. pic.twitter.com/gqbNj502Sj
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) March 19, 2026

The team says that Cunningham will be re-evaluated in two weeks, however, other indicators are that he could be out longer than that.

Kevin O'Connor of the Ringer notes that, based on past recovery timelines, the collapsed lung could keep the Pistons superstar sidelined for the rest of the regular season.

Cade Cunningham's collapsed lung could keep him sidelined for the rest of the regular season, but not the playoffs, if past recovery timelines are any indication:

CJ McCollum, 2023: Missed 12 games over 3.5 weeks
CJ McCollum, 2021: 18 games, 6 weeks
Terrence Jones, 2015: 6… https://t.co/RRRfeEad38
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnor) March 19, 2026

He cites CJ McCollum missing six weeks on one of the occasions that he had a collapsed lung, and 3 1/2 weeks the other time he had it. On the other hand, there are a couple of other examples where players missed just two to three weeks.

“There is some optimism within the Pistons that he’s going to be able to come back for the playoffs, but still not sure about next steps,” Charania said on ESPN, adding that Cunningham's case is considered “mild” by doctors.

Cunningham is the motor that drives the Pistons, and without him, they could simply become a run-of-the-mill team. They are 49-19, with their Mr. Everything All-Star player averaging 24.9 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds.