LeBron James calls Pistons star Cade Cunningham one of his ‘favorite players’ alongside Luka Doncic

LeBron James and the Philadelphia 76ers got the better of Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night, but the Sixers star still showed plenty of love to the Pistons' franchise player.

After the 112-106 win at Little Caesars Arena, James put Cunningham in the same category as his former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Luka Doncic .

"I love the big guard, the big guard that can do multiple things. That's why I love Luka as well. Always stated that Luka and Cade are two of my favorite players, guys that can just do multiple things on the floor, and it's great to see where Cade is today," James said, via Chris Hine . "And yes, we have a really good relationship."

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Cunningham showed exactly why in the loss. The Pistons star finished with 26 points, 11 assists and seven rebounds. Duncan Robinson added 27 points on seven 3-pointers as Detroit rallied from a 17-point deficit to make it close late.

Jaylen Brown sealed it for Philadelphia, blocking Cunningham with 37 seconds left to keep the Pistons from cutting the lead to three. Brown finished with a season-high 30 points, while Joel Embiid posted 26 points and 15 rebounds . James stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists, and also became the first player in NBA history to make 16,000 field goals .

The win avenged Philadelphia's only loss of the season, a home defeat to Detroit in October. The Sixers are now 8-1 and a perfect 4-0 on the road, but James is not getting ahead of himself, even as he sees signs of his past contenders in this group.

"Those teams just had consistency throughout the whole year. We didn't want to take too many steps backwards," James said. "We understood what the assignment was, and we all held each other accountable. And I think early on, I kind of see that here as well, but it's a long season. And it's too early to be talking about the Finals and things of that nature."

"We got a good team, guys vibe with one another, guys like each other," he added. "It makes the game a lot easier when you enjoy being around people."

The Sixers visit the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, while the Pistons host the Lakers on Sunday.