The Oklahoma City Thunder has lost their franchise player in Kevin Durant thru free agency last summer. Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder and signed with the Golden State Warriors. Kevin Durant may be gone but the Oklahoma City Thunder still has one player ready to take over the franchise player tag. His name is Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook is having a phenomenal season. With the kind of season Russell Westbrook is having this year, everybody in the NBA is already saying that the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award is in the bag for Russell Westbrook. Everybody, except for Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Apparently for Mark Cuban, Russell Westbrook is still just an ordinary player and is not worthy t be mentioned in the same breath as the other elite players in the NBA.
For Mark Cuban, Russell Westbrook's incredible and historic season is not enough to change his opinion that Russell Westbrook is deserving of being called a superstar in the NBA and is not worthy to be named this season's NBA MVP, according to a report from ESPN. Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple-double this season with 31.7 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.1 assists per game. He's on pace to join Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average a triple double in a season.
Mark Cuban last Sunday said that only three players are deserving to be mentioned as MVP candidates this season. The Houston Rockets' James Harden, the Cleveland Cavaliers LeBron James and the San Antonio Spurs' Kawhi Leonard are the three players Mark Cuban mentioned. As for where Russell Westbrook stands in that conversation, Mark Cuban said that Russell Westbrook is not included.
Mark Cuban certainly has a high standard for being included in his MVP candidate list. While Mark Cuban does acknowledge Russell Westbrook as the most amazing and explosive athlete in the NBA, he's also quick to point out the Oklahoma City Thunder's record this season.
The Oklahoma City Thunder so far has a 35-27 record this season and are on pace to finish with less than 50 wins. For Mark Cuban, a player must be able to lead his team to at least 50 wins to be called a superstar and be an MVP candidate. Unfortunately for Russell Westbrook, he doesn't fall in that category.
With this latest statement from Mark Cuban, it seems that Mark Cuban's dislike of Russell Westbrook is not just trash talk, it's personal. This is not the first time Mark Cuban has voiced out his opinion on Russell Westbrook. During last season's playoffs, Mark Cuban said that Kevin Durant is the only superstar in the Oklahoma City Thunder. Just last December, Mark Cuban once again said that Russell Westbrook is not a superstar, via a report from ESPN.
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