Cade Cunningham 2021-22 Panini Flawless Basketball Vertical Patch Autograph 04/25 #VPA-CCH PSA 10 & PSA/DNA 10 | Rookie Card | On-Card Autograph | Game-Worn Patch

In January 2009, the NBA shocked the trading card world when they announced that the exclusive licensed trading card manufacturer for the league, starting later that year, would be Italian outfit Panini.

In the wake of the announcement, Panini bought Donruss Playoff in March of that year in preparation to take over the license, granting Panini several well-known brands to begin their NBA endeavors with, including Donruss and Playoff’s high-end entry, National Treasures. As the license turned over to Panini, Upper Deck released its final licensed installment of Exquisite Collection, and then the hobby turned to Panini. 2009-10 saw Panini deliver the legendary 2009-10 Playoff National Treasures Set, bolstered by a strong rookie class including Stephen Curry, James Harden, and Blake Griffin, and basketball hobbyists eagerly awaited an ultra high–end release under Panini’s name and a spiritual successor. 

In October of 2013, Panini delivered. Panini released 2012-13 Flawless Basketball, and it instantly became a set of basketball fantasy. Delivered to collectors not in a standard box but instead in a metal briefcase, the product made history: $1250 for a box, the most expensive trading card product ever at the time of release. For that, collectors received seven autographed cards, two patch cards, and a card embedded with a precious gem, either a diamond or emerald. Each box also included a Kobe Bryant Anthology pack.

The set became an instant classic and has become for many the highest profile release of the year not only for basketball but also American football and international soccer, while also seeing releases in baseball, collegiate football, and WWE wrestling. For basketball hobbyists, it has become especially beloved for rarities like the six-logoman booklets offered in the initial release as well as the return of triple logomen in 2020-21 and because in many cases, since the COVID-19 pandemic, it offers one of the few opportunities for collectors to chase game-worn patches and patch autographs of that year’s top rookies.  

Few rookies in the Panini era have commanded more attention in recent years than the top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Cade Cunningham. Drafted after a single year at Oklahoma State, where he was named a Consensus All-American and Big 12 Player of the Year, Cade joined a struggling Detroit Pistons team and has made it his mission to not only improve his own play but to bring the Pistons back to NBA glory. 

Cade impressed in his rookie season, finishing third in Rookie of the Year voting. Despite a devastating injury that cut his sophomore season to just 12 games, Cade bounced back and delivered his best season yet in 2023-24, finishing the year with averages of 22.7 points per game and 7.5 assists. As it turns out, that was only a preview of what Cade could do.

The 2024-25 NBA Season saw Cade burst into NBA superstar territory. Cade led the Pistons in a historic turnaround, which saw them more than triple their win total from the prior year and become the first team to make the playoffs after recording only 14 wins the year before. Meanwhile, Cade finished seventh in the league in scoring with a career-high 26.1 points per game while achieving an incredible 9.1 assists per game, good for fourth in the NBA. Cade earned his first All Star nod as well as his first career MVP votes and was named to the All-NBA 3rd Team for the first time. The Pistons took the Knicks to six games in the first round, winning their first playoff game since Cade was six years old. As Cade and the basketball world look ahead to the 2025-26 season, there is only one question about this young star: what will he achieve next?

Offered is one of the finest Cade Cunningham cards ever produced. 2021-22 Flawless was one of only two products to offer Cade Cunningham game-worn patches from his rookie year, and this card presents with a stunning three color game-worn patch. Further, it has been awarded the best possible grade for a signed card by PSA: a PSA Gem Mint 10 with a PSA/DNA Gem Mint 10 autograph. At the time of cataloging, of the 18 vertical patch autographs from 2021-22 Flawless depicting Cade Cunningham across any parallel to be assessed by PSA/DNA, this is one of only two to receive a PSA 10 card grade. This is the only example from this parallel at the time of cataloging. Do not miss your chance at one of the best cards ever made for one of the NBA’s brightest young stars. 

This card has been authenticated and deemed to be in Gem Mint condition, receiving a grade of 10 from Professional Sports Authenticator (PSA) and an autograph grade of Gem Mint 10 from PSA/DNA.

The PSA certificate number for this card is: 94614767.

Going Deeper - Cade and Detroit’s First Playoff Win since 2008

April 21, 2025 was a day almost 17 years in the making. That night in Madison Square Garden, for the first time since May 26, 2008, the Detroit Pistons won an NBA Playoff Game.

Their dazzling superstar, Cade Cunningham, was just six years old when the Pistons won Game 4 of the 2008 Eastern Conference Finals. In the years since, Detroit had suffered a combination of poor basketball and bad luck. They only managed three playoff appearances between that 2008 victory and Cade’s lone year in college, and each had resulted in a first round sweep: only two of the 12 games they played saw their margin of defeat dip into the single digits. Injuries like those to stars Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Brandon Jennings, and Blake Griffin contributed to these dismal years and it was clear that Detroit was a franchise in need of some young talent and hope. 

They got it with Cade Cunningham. Drafted first overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, the 6’6” point guard had displayed his talents in a dominant run in the Big 12, bringing Oklahoma State to the Finals of the Big 12 Tournament. Now he needed to bring that same skill to a team who had last seen a winning season in 2016. 

Initially, it seemed like more of the same. Despite Cade’s strong play, the Pistons limped to a 23-59 record. The following year Cade was injured and played only 12 games after surgery was required on his shin in December 2022. The Pistons fell to 17-65. 2023-24 was a new low for the Pistons. Despite the best season that Cunningham had put together yet in the NBA, the Pistons slid to a dismal 14-68, including a historic 28-game losing streak, the longest single-season losing streak in NBA history. However in the midst of losses, Cade demonstrated the leadership of a superstar, holding himself and his teammates accountable while also constantly encouraging his team to dig deep. 

While the Pistons seemed on pace to set a new NBA record for losses, and they did set a franchise record for losses, they improved enough to avoid that dubious distinction, and entered the offseason looking to regroup. The Pistons were busy, drafting Ron Holland and trading for Tim Hardaway Jr. as well as Bobi Klintman. The Pistons also signed Tobias Harris as well as Malik Beasley and claimed Paul Reed off waivers, and their offseason was capped off by their most important move: on July 10, Cade signed a five-year, $224 million extension. The Pistons had gone all-in on Cade, and Cade believed in the team that had drafted him.

Cade made sure no one regretted it. Cade led the Pistons to a 44-38 record, surpassing their win total from 2023-24 by December 26 and matching their best record since the 2007-08 season. The Pistons ended with more than three times their total 2023-24 wins and became the first team in NBA history to go from such a low win count to the Playoffs the following season. The Pistons even avoided the Play-In Tournament, a new development since their last playoff appearance, and managed the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. This pitted them against the New York Knicks, led by Clutch Player of the Year Jalen Brunson.

In his playoff debut, Cade recorded a 21 point and 12 rebound double-double in Madison Square Garden, however the Pistons lost 123-112 in a loss that extended the longest playoff losing streak the NBA had ever seen.

Cade would end it in game 2. Cade came out firing, scoring 20 by halftime while the Pistons took the lead with four minutes left in the first quarter and never relinquished it. The Pistons’ lead swelled to as much as 15 in the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Brunson led the Knicks on a comeback charge, tying the game at 94 with 1:15 left, however that was about all the Knicks had in them. The Pistons closed out the game on a 6-0 run sparked by trade deadline acquisition Dennis Schröder’s late three pointer and secured their first playoff win since 2008. Cunningham finished with his second straight double-double, finishing with 33 points and 12 rebounds. Cunningham said “It feels good to represent the city tonight. It’s something that the city has been waiting on for a long time, so we feel good about it.” They did not have to wait for the next win. After recording another double-double and his first postseason triple-double, Cunningham led the Pistons to their second win of the series. Cade led the game in scoring and staved off elimination for the Pistons. Although they would ultimately lose the series in six games, the series and season represented the rebirth of a proud NBA franchise, and Cade Cunningham is at the heart.