Cade Cunningham delivered one of the most memorable — and statistically unusual — performances of the NBA season on Monday night. The Detroit Pistons guard posted a massive triple-double in a 137-135 overtime win against the Washington Wizards, finishing with 46 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists and five steals. It was one of the most productive games of his young career and a driving force behind Detroit’s narrow victory.
But alongside the big numbers came an unwanted place in the record books.
Cunningham took 45 shots in the win, converting 14 of them and missing 31 field-goal attempts. According to NBA tracking data, that total breaks the 23-year-old mark set by Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who missed 30 most shots in a 40-point game most recently. Bryant missed 30 attempts while scoring 41 points against the Boston Celtics in 2002, also in an overtime matchup.
The inefficiency puts Cunningham in rare statistical territory. Prior to Monday, the last time an NBA player scored at least 40 points while missing 31 or more shots happened nearly 61 years ago. Wilt Chamberlain accomplished the feat in November 1964 when he scored 63 points but also finished with 31 misses. Unlike Chamberlain, however, Cunningham’s shooting percentage was significantly lower, giving him what is now the most inefficient 40-point performance in league history with a 31.1% mark from the field.
While the night will be remembered for both brilliance and inefficiency, it ultimately ended in a victory — something the Pistons will take every time.
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