Cade Cunningham announced that he will enter the NBA draft after a dynamic freshman season for Oklahoma State that saw him named a first-team AP All-American.
“I see them as more human now than I used to,” Cunningham said of NBA players. “I’ve been looking at those guys since I was a sophomore in high school. Those are the guys I’ve got to try to outwork right now.”
The 6-foot-8 point guard’s decision to go pro was no surprise, as the 19-year-old Cunningham took part in Senior Night activities before the Cowboys faced Oklahoma in Stillwater.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Oklahoma State All-American guard Cunningham their Division I Freshman of the Year. This is the fifth major national freshman of the year award for Cunningham, who was also given the same honor from USA Today and The Sporting News on top of receiving the Wayman Tisdale Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and the Kyle Macy Award from College Insider.
The Arlington, Texas native had First Team All-America honors from the Associated Press, the NABC, USA Today, the Sporting News, The Athletic and the USBWA. Cunningham is a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, the John Wooden Award and the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year awards.
He is a nine-time recipient of the Big 12 Player/Newcomer of the Week honor, which is the most by any player this year and the most in school history. At 20.1 points per game, Cunningham finished the season as the Big 12’s top scorer, and only two other players in all of college basketball over the last 20 seasons can match his stellar all-around stat line.
Cunningham is one of just four players in Big 12 history to earn the Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year awards in the same season, joining Cowboy legend Marcus Smart (2012-13), Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (2007-08) and Texas’ Kevin Durant (2006-07).
Cunningham and the Cowboys finished the season ranked No. 11 in the AP Top-25 after advancing to the finals of the Big 12 Championship game for the first time since 2005. OSU earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second round for the first time since 2009.
Past NABC Freshman of the Year Award Winners
2017 – Lonzo Ball, UCLA
2018 – Marvin Bagley III, Duke
2019 – Zion Williamson, Duke
2020 – Vernon Carey Jr., Duke
2021 – Cade Cunningham, Oklahoma State