Cade Cunningham vs. Sam Jones Season by Season Comparison

Side by side comparison of each NBA season of Sam Jones and Cade Cunningham, from their rookie seasons to their last year played, in chronological order with awards, stats, championships and playoff performance of their teams every year.

Player comparisons:
Career comparison / Season by season

Who had the better rookie season? Who had best stats in their 10th season? Who won a championship first? These questions and many others, are answered here.

Cade Cunningham played 4 years in the NBA, 8 less than Sam Jones, who played 12. Cade Cunningham had the first of his seasons in 2021-22, while Sam Jones had his rookie season in 1957-58. With that starting point, here you can take a look at each of their seasons side by side and compare how their careers evolved in achievements, awards and championships won, the stats they recorded both in the Regular Season and the Playoffs and how their teams performed in the postseason.

Their Careers

Player
Total Seasons Playoffs Played NBA Years
Cade Cunningham 4 1 2021-22 to 2024-25
Sam Jones 12 12 1957-58 to 1968-69

Comparison Season by Season

Jump to season:

1-2-3-4

Rookie Season

Cade Cunningham Sam Jones
Season 2021-221957-58
Team Detroit PistonsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-Rookie First Team-
Playoffs Did Not PlayCeltics Lost NBA Finals
more >>
Rookie Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham 64 32.6 17.4 0.9 4.6 5.5 5.6 1.2 0.7 3.7 3.1 6.7 16.1 .416 1.8 5.7 .314 2.2 2.6 .845
difference:+8+22.0+12.8+2.6+4.9-2.3+4.9+11.9+.013+1.1+1.1+.131
Sam Jones 56 10.6 4.6 - - 2.9 0.7 - - - 0.8 1.8 4.2 .429 - - - 1.1 1.5 .714
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham DNP------ --- ----------
Sam Jones 8 9.4 3.9 - - 3.0 0.5 - - - 0.9 1.3 2.8 .455 - - - 1.4 2.0 .688

Season 2

Cade Cunningham Sam Jones
Season 2022-231958-59
Team Detroit PistonsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
2nd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham 12 33.3 19.9 1.0 5.2 6.2 6.0 0.8 0.6 3.3 2.8 7.8 18.7 .415 1.4 5.1 .279 3.0 3.6 .837
difference:+59+12.7+9.2+0.2+4.6-1.4+3.5+8.8+.019+0.9+0.8+.067
Sam Jones 71 20.6 10.7 - - 6.0 1.4 - - - 1.4 4.3 9.9 .434 - - - 2.1 2.8 .770
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham DNP------ --- ----------
Sam Jones 11 17.5 10.3 - - 5.7 1.5 - - - 1.3 3.6 9.8 .370 - - - 3.0 3.5 .846

Season 3

Cade Cunningham Sam Jones
Season 2023-241959-60
Team Detroit PistonsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards
Playoffs Did Not PlayNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
3rd Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham 62 33.5 22.7 0.5 3.8 4.3 7.5 0.9 0.4 3.4 2.5 8.5 18.8 .449 1.9 5.4 .355 3.8 4.4 .869
difference:+12+13.1+10.8+0.8+5.8-1.1+3.7+8.2+.005+1.5+1.4+.105
Sam Jones 74 20.4 11.9 - - 5.1 1.7 - - - 1.4 4.8 10.6 .454 - - - 2.3 3.0 .764
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham DNP------ --- ----------
Sam Jones 13 15.2 8.2 - - 3.2 1.4 - - - 1.2 3.5 9.0 .385 - - - 1.3 1.6 .810

Season 4

Cade Cunningham Sam Jones
Season 2024-251960-61
Team Detroit PistonsBoston Celtics
Honors & Awards Achievement All-NBA Third Team-
Achievement All-Star Game-
Playoffs Pistons Lost East Conf 1st RdNBA Champion NBA Champion
more >>
4th Season Stats Comparison
Regular Season Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham 70 35.0 26.1 0.8 5.3 6.1 9.1 1.0 0.8 4.4 2.8 9.8 20.8 .469 2.1 6.0 .356 4.5 5.3 .846
difference:+8+9.0+11.1+0.7+6.3-0.9+3.6+7.1+.020+1.8+1.9+.059
Sam Jones 78 26.0 15.0 - - 5.4 2.8 - - - 1.9 6.2 13.7 .449 - - - 2.7 3.4 .787
Playoffs Stats
G Min Pts ORb DRb Reb Ast Stl Blk TOPF FGM / A% 3PM / A% FTM / A%
Cade Cunningham 6 41.3 25.0 1.0 7.3 8.3 8.7 1.8 1.3 5.3 3.3 9.2 21.5 .426 0.8 4.7 .179 5.8 7.0 .833
difference:+4+15.5+11.9+2.9+6.5-1.1+4.2+10.3+.020+2.7+3.5+.053
Sam Jones 10 25.8 13.1 - - 5.4 2.2 - - - 2.2 5.0 11.2 .446 - - - 3.1 3.5 .886

Additional Years

* Sam Jones played 8 seasons more than Cade Cunningham in the NBA.

In that period—his seasons 5 to 12, from 1962 to 1969—Sam Jones played in 8 Playoffs and won 7 NBA Championships.

In those 8 extra years over Cade Cunningham, Sam Jones got these achievements:

Honors & AwardsAchievement 3 All-NBA Second Team
Achievement 5 All-Star Game