How long will the Detroit Pistons be without Cade Cunningham?
That’s the question on the entire NBA’s minds after the Pistons’ superstar guard was diagnosed with a collapsed lung on Thursday, March 19.
Cunningham, who is averaging 24.5 points, 9.9 assists and 5.6 rebounds has helped lead the Pistons to a 49-19 overall and a first place standing in the Eastern Conference with 14 games remaining in the regular season.
Cunningham isn’t the first athlete to deal with a collapsed lung, also known as pneumothorax, which is when air gets inside the chest cavity and creates pressure against the lung, causing it to collapse partially or fully, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Atlanta Hawks guard CJ McCollum was diagnosed with a small pneumothorax in his right lung after medical imaging in Nov. 2023 and ended up missing three weeks.
He also suffered a collapsed right lung in 2021 and missed 17 games over six weeks due to injury.
Former Houston Rockets forward Terrence Jones also suffered a similar injury in March of 2015 and was hospitalized. The injury happened on March 19 and he did not return to game action until April 1, a timeline the Pistons would gladly accept.
On the gridiron, Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt underwent surgery for his partially collapsed lung on Dec. 10, 2025.
Watt sat out for almost a month before returning in a win-or-go-home matchup against the Baltimore Ravens in 2026.
The Steelers won the matchup, 26-24, on Jan. 4, 2025, knocking out the Ravens and causing them to miss the playoffs for the first time since 2021.
Watt recorded one tackle and an interception in his comeback game.
Long Beach State forward Derrick Michael Xzavierro also suffered from a collapsed lung, leading to a seven-week, two-surgery hospital ordeal in Dec. 2022.
Indonesia’s first Division I basketball scholarship player had 50% of his right lung collapse, causing him to undergo pleurodesis, a procedure that sticks the lung to the chest wall to remove space where air can build up and allow the lung to collapse again.
Xzavierro averaged 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in the 2025-26 season for Long Beach State.
It is not yet clear how long Cunningham will be out for the Pistons. The first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs will start on April 1.
Pistons beat writer Omari Sankofa II contributed reporting.
Jalen Williams is a trending reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Cade Cunningham lung injury: Other NBA players who suffered injury
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