Mark Cuban definitely didn’t become a billionaire by being a dummy yet he seems to be one of the only people who isn’t smart enough to realize how much of a superstar player that Russell Westbrook is. You may remember back in April when the Thunder were facing the Mavs in the first round of the playoffs, Cuban said a true superstar can carry a mediocre roster to 50 wins and a postseason series win. He noted that the Thunder failed to make the playoffs in 2014-15, when Kevin Durant missed most of the season because of a foot injury. Cuban was wrong then and is still wrong now for trying to stand behind his original comments.

@IamJoeSports

I never like to refer to the opinion of someone as being wrong since it’s just something they are thinking but in this case, I think it’s more than OK to call Cuban out. When he made his comments during the playoffs you could’ve looked at it as some gamesmanship on his part, since the Thunder were getting ready to bounce his Mavs out of the playoffs. Russell then went off for 36 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists in the series clinching game. However to still say he isn’t a superstar when there are only a handful of those players to begin with is definitely wrong.

“He’s putting up superstar numbers. That’s for damn sure,” Cuban said of Westbrook as the Thunder took on the Houston Rockets on Friday night. “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 up superstar numbers. You can’t deny that.”

You can hear he wants to give Russ credit, just not too much. Plus if he backtracks now and says that he is in fact a superstar, then it makes his comments from April look silly.

Westbrook had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Friday’s 102-99 loss. It was his seventh consecutive triple-double, the longest streak since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989, and his season averages now sit at 30.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 11.3 assists per game. The Thunder are also 14-9 this season despite losing arguably the best player in the NBA in Durant, as well as all-star Serge Ibaka.

“That’s no disrespect to Russell,” Cuban said. “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.”

Cuban clearly has forgotten what a superstar player is since the Mavs can’t sign anyone worth a damn and Dirk Nowitzki hasn’t been a star in about three years now.