Mark Cuban Says Thunder Must Win for Russell Westbrook to Be NBA Superstar
In April, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban asserted Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook was "an All-Star but not a superstar," according to ESPN.com's Tim MacMahon.
Friday, Cuban doubled down and said that while Westbrook is posting outrageous numbers through the season's quarter-pole, he doesn't believe the electric floor general is a superstar just yet.
"He's putting up superstar numbers. That's for damn sure," Cuban said, per MacMahon. "I'm not taking anything away from what he's been able to accomplish, but I'm not going to change my definition. He's putting superstar numbers. You can't deny that."
When Cuban commented on Westbrook's status roughly eight months ago, he provided clear criteria for what he believes makes a player a superstar: "There are only a few guys where you can put them on any team, and they win 50 games. To me, that's the definition of a superstar."
However, Cuban praised the job Westbrook has done to this point in the season after the Thunder point guard entered Friday night's clash with the Houston Rockets averaging 31.0 points, 11.3 assists and 10.9 rebounds per game with six straight triple-doubles to his name.
"That's no disrespect to Russell," Cuban said, per MacMahon. "He's been a beast. Few have done what he's done, but I'll stick by my definition. I'm not saying that he's not going to prove me wrong and that he [won't be] a superstar by the end of the year. That's fine, but I'll stick by my definition."
While the Thunder may fall short of winning 50 games after they started the season 14-8, Westbrook is posting historically significant numbers that should elevate his status even higher as the year progresses.
At present, Westbrook is on pace to join Oscar Robertson in 1961-62 as the only players in league history to average at least 30 points, 10 dimes and 10 boards for an entire season.
However, he's going to need some help if Oklahoma is going to make noise in the Western Conference playoffs.
Teams outscore the Thunder by 12.2 points per 100 possessions when Westbrook is on the bench, and OKC's offensive rating plummets to 92.9 during those minutes. To put that tally in perspective, the Philadelphia 76ers own a league-worst offensive rating of 96.4.
So while he may not be able to propel the Thunder to 50 wins and a top-four seed all by himself, Westbrook has proved to this point that he's clearly among the league's most valuable players.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com.
