Kevin Durant showed love to Cade Cunningham: ‘I love Cade’s game’

Durant had high praise for Cunningham, and was even seen with his jersey after the Nets defeated the Pistons.

No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham on Friday dropped a team-high to lead the Detroit Pistons during a loss to the Brooklyn Nets, and he even earned some high praise from Kevin Durant.

Cunningham produced 17 points, four rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of work during the 96-90 loss. He finished by shooting 6-of-17 from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range. He had eight points in the fourth quarter and hit timely 3s to keep the game within reach.

The performance caught the attention of Durant.

Afterward, Durant was seen with Cunningham’s jersey as he conducted his postgame press conference. They have known each other for a few years now as Durant believes Cunningham has a bright future ahead.

I love Cade’s game. I think he’s going to be a tough, tough cover for a long, long time. I got to know him while he was in high school so we built a little relationship. To play against him in the NBA is what we had a lot of conversations about — being on this level and what it took. He battled some injuries to start but to come out here and play aggressive tonight, he hit some big shots for them. I’m happy for him, looking forward to seeing his career.

Cunningham and Durant went at each other a little bit on the court, too. Cunningham scored on Durant a few times, while Durant repaid the favor and did the same. Durant was even seen yelling toward Cunningham after scoring on him.

The matchup meant a little bit more to Durant since they know each other.

Like I said, this is really one of my guys, you know? When I’m guarding him, I want him to come at me the best he can and when he is guarding me, I’m going to do the same. That friendly competition ramps up a bit when you know somebody.

Durant finished with 29 points,10 rebounds and five assists to lead the Nets.

Cunningham has gotten off to a bit of a slow start but that was to be expected after missing time with an ankle injury. He is still adjusting to the game and knocking off some rust but continues to improve each time he steps onto the court.

He has flashed his overall skillset on a number of occasions over his four games with the Pistons as he looks to be finding a groove. The early showing certainly has Durant excited about his future.

This post originally appeared on Rookie Wire! Follow us on Facebook!

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