Cade Cunningham Suffers Collapsed Lung; Recovery Timeline

Detroit Pistons point guard Cade Cunningham, 24, suffered a "mild" collapsed lung in Tuesday night's game against the Washington Wizards after diving for a loose ball in the first quarter. The injury was initially suspected to be back spasms; Cunningham tried to play through it but was soon removed.

Cunningham has had a phenomenal year, helping position the Pistons among the NBA's top teams. He has averaged 24.5 points and 9.9 assists across 61 games — second most in the league this season — but missing time could leave him short of the 65-game threshold needed for All-NBA and MVP award eligibility.

The Cleveland Clinic describes a collapsed lung, or pneumothorax, as air in the space between the chest wall and the lung that can cause the lung to partially or fully collapse. Treatments range from oxygen therapy and needle evacuation to chest tube drainage or chemical pleurodesis, depending on severity.

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