Player Breakdowns: Dante Cunningham, The Surprise Sniper

Do you know what player on the New Orleans Pelicans roster had the best three-point percentage last season? It wasn’t DeMarcus Cousins or E’Twaun Moore, it wasn’t Ian Clark either. The answer to that question would be the man who attempted just 38 threes in his career heading into the 2015-16 season. That’s right – Dante Cunningham.

Dante Cunningham has grown in many ways as an NBA player over the last few seasons. None of those seem to be as pronounced as his three-point shooting. With that in mind, Cunningham has a pretty obvious role with the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s their sniper.

Strength – Three Point shooting

Cunningham barely stepped behind the three-point line in the first seven years of his career. Two seasons ago that changed Last year he stepped up the attempts, even more, taking 181 threes. He made 71, for a career-best 39.2%

What made him so dangerous from three was his ability to hit from anywhere. Cunningham shot 35.2% from the right corner and 36% from the wings and straight ahead. Meanwhile, he absolutely owned the left corner, shooting 46.9%.

With a new dimension added to his game, Cunningham becomes even more valuable to the success of the Pelicans.

Thanks to the duo of DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, Cunningham should get plenty of open shots. New point guard Rajon Rondo will also be only too happy to kick it out to the sharpshooter.

Weakness – Playmaking

Dante Cunningham is actually a pretty well-rounded NBA player. If there’s one glaring weakness, it’s his playmaking. He’s not going to give you much in the assist category (0.6 per game last season). Meanwhile, he’s not going to spend much time with the ball. Cunningham’s much more of a spot shooter and quick driver than someone that’s going to actually handle the ball.

Strength – Efficiency

Cunningham can do more than just shoot threes. He shot 48.5% from the field and didn’t really have any problems no matter where he tried to score from.

With that being said, Cunningham scored just 6.6 points (on 5.4 shots) per game last year. This shows that he tends to pick his spots. The Pelicans already have multiple elite scoring options on the roster though. Due to that, Cunningham not demanding too many looks could be a good thing.

If Cunningham struggles from anywhere, it’s the free throw line. A career 65% shooter from the charity stripe, he made just 59.3% of his free throws last season. This was an extremely small sample size, however, as he attempted just 27 (16 makes).

Strength – Athleticism

This is something Cunningham’s always had. It’s part of the reason he’s a strong defender and can cover multiple positions.

While he isn’t the most athletic player at his position, he’s above average in this area. It leads to rebounds (4.2 per game) and posterizations, as well as chase-down blocks and highlight-reel plays.

You know, like getting a chase-down block on Kevin Durant and dunking it on the other end.

Strength – Lineup flexibility

Standing at 6’8″, Cunningham’s not the biggest power forward. With that being said, he possesses an 83-inch wingspan, and he’s rather athletic.  Due to that, Cunningham can cover multiple positions, giving the Pelicans a lot of options with their lineups.

Strength – Defense

The 30-year-old has made his fair share of impressive blocks. He gets a number of chase down blocks and can stuff anyone at the rim. While that’s what’s going to command the attention of the media, Cunningham has no problem locking down his opponent either.

To be fair, I should note that he gets caught sleeping on occasion. When he’s locked in, however, Cunningham can’t be fun to try and score on.

His combination of size and athleticism allows Cunningham to cover multiple different positions. Thanks to that, there’s a smaller chance the Pelicans will be on the wrong end of a defensive mismatch.

Next: Season Goals: Jrue Holiday’s Shooting Consistency

Dante Cunningham brings a lot to the table for the New Orleans Pelicans. He brings athleticism and flexibility to lineups while playing an efficient offense and strong defense. It’s that sniper ability from deep that makes him so special and what will make him so important next season.