Many consider Russell Westbrook to be one of the best players in the NBA, but Mark Cuban does not think the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard quite qualifies as a “superstar.”
Speaking ahead of Game 5 between his Dallas Mavericks and the Thunder on Monday, the Mavs owner was asked whether he felt Kevin Durant deserved to be named to first-team All-NBA.
“I think he’s better than that,” Cuban said via The Oklahoman. “He’s a Top 3 player. He’s a superstar.
“They’re lucky to have him. They’ve got one superstar, he plays like it, and he’s good.”
Cuban specified that Durant was the team’s sole superstar, which some reporters were surprised about. Naturally they followed up and asked whether Westbrook qualified as a superstar in Cuban’s eyes.
“Russell’s certainly an All-Star, but I consider Durant a superstar. You look at Dirk (Nowitzki) all those years to now, he carries teams to 50 wins. To me, that’s (what makes a superstar) … when you by yourself … it wasn’t until we got J-Kidd (Jason Kidd) that we had another Hall of Famer. So, to go the 15 years where Dirk won 50, that’s a superstar. There’s only a few guys that you put them on any team and they’ll win 50 games. To me that’s the definition of a superstar.”
Cuban’s point will be unpopular and therefore controversial around many NBA circles, especially within OKC. But his standard of superstardom is just too difficult to evaluate. The time when Durant missed a significant amount of games — last season when he only played 27 — Westbrook also missed 15 games. The Thunder didn’t quite hit 50 wins, but they were a respectable 45-37. Together they have won at least 50 games in a season essentially every year since they’ve each played a full season together.
Would a Kevin Durant-led team fare better than a Russell Westbrook-led team if we were to put them on different teams? Probably. But if Westbrook does not make your cut for being a superstar, then he is just below it.
Westbrook often takes slights personally, so you can bet he won’t like hearing that from Cuban.
