If there’s one guy who knows basketball, it’s Charles Barkley. He’s one of the most legendary NBA players of all time and always gives his thoughts about the current game.
On Thursday, May 30, the NBA on TNT hosts opened envelopes with the names of each NBA All-Star reserve. One of those names was Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham.
When the guys called Cunningham’s name, Barkley approved.
Charles Barkley Talks Cade Cunningham
“I’m so happy for that kid,” he said. It must feel so great to get Barkley’s stamp of approval.
“I am so happy for that kid.”
TNT’s Inside the NBA crew reacts to Cade Cunningham’s All-Star selection. #Pistons https://t.co/xpek6SM84j pic.twitter.com/iyOgvhHysG
— Coty M. Davis (@CotyDavis_24) January 30, 2025
Cunningham was a guest on the show a few weeks back and talked about his stellar 2024-2025 NBA season.
On the show, O’Neal said to Cunningham, “You’re an All-Star to me—playing fabulous. I know what an All-Star is, and I’m telling you to your face, you are an All-Star. If I had a vote, I would definitely vote you in.”
Last week, the NBA revealed their 2025 10 All-Star starters, and Cunningham didn’t make that cut. New York’s Jalen Brunson and Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell got selected for the Eastern Conference guard starters.
During the past 43 games, Cunningham has averaged 25 points, six rebounds and nine assists. He’s also making 45 percent of his tries from the field and making 36% of his threes.
In honor of Cunningham being an All-Star, the Pistons posted a 3.5-minute video of Cunningham dunking on his opponents.
NBA expert and reporter Hunter Patterson of the New York Times also applauds the choice. In a January 30 feature for The Athletic, he published a featured called, “Why Pistons guard Cade Cunningham deserves to be an NBA All-Star this season,” explaining why he believed Cunningham deserved the honor.
The 2025 NBA All-Star Game
So, what can players get during the NBA All-Star Game? For the 24 NBA stars and eight prospects, according to the NBA’s website, “The four teams participating in the NBA All-Star Game will compete for a prize pool of $1.8 million, with each player on the championship-winning team receiving $125,000, each player on the second-place team receiving $50,000 and each player on the third- and fourth-place teams receiving $25,000.”
The All-Star reserves are picked by a vote of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, so it means a lot that Cunningham has the respect of the coaches in the league. The starters were picked by weighing the fan, player and media votes. For the starters, fan votes accounted for 50% of the score and players and media each account for 25%.
As previously mentioned, in addition to Brunson and Mitchell, the East lineup features New York’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokoumpo and Boston’s Jason Tatum. For the West, it’s Golden State’s Stephen Curry and Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are the backcourt starters, with Denver’s Nikola Jokić, Phoenix’s Kevin Durant and the Lakers’ LeBron James. Can you imagine if James didn’t make the cut? That would be madness.
The NBA All-Star game tips at 7 p.m. Feb. 16 in San Francisco. The game will air on TNT.