Take that, Mark Cuban.
Ahead of the Dallas Mavericks’ Game 5 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night, a letdown that bounced them from the first round of the playoffs, Cuban had a not-so-nice, totally out-of-touch thing to say about Russell Westbrook, per ESPN.com’s Tim MacMahon:
Mark Cuban says Kevin Durant is the Thunder's only superstar. What about Russell Westbrook? "He's an All-Star but not a superstar."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) April 25, 2016
Westbrook responded with a 36-point, 12-rebound, nine-assist explosion that left him in esteemed NBA company to start these playoffs:
Per @bball_ref: Russell Westbrook is 1st player since Magic Johnson (1991) to total 130 PTS, 36 REB & 56 AST in 1st 5 games of postseason.
— Dan Favale (@danfavale) April 26, 2016
So yeah, Westbrook is a superstar. Both Dirk Nowitzki and Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle admitted as much afterward.
Thunder head coach Billy Donovan, though, went one step further, per ESPN.com’s Royce Young:
I didn’t see it or hear, but I’ll tell you this: I’m really, really happy he’s on my team. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody.
Westbrook is one of the 10, perhaps five, best players in the league. He is a superstar. Whether Cuban’s comments were taken out of context or just a harbinger of first-round blues or resentment doesn’t matter.
Over the last two years, Russell Westbrook has transformed into an NBA MVP candidate, a player who has earned his megastar stripes. There are those who would even argue that he is more important to Oklahoma City than Kevin Durant. They would be wrong, but they will still argue it. And they can argue it without seeming absurd.
Because while Durant is more valuable than Westbrook, he is in the minority.
