Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
The Schmooze

Mark Cuban Refuses To Acknowledge that Russell Westbrook is a ‘Superstar’

Russell Westbrook is having a historic season for the Oklahoma City Thunder. That’s still not enough for Mark Cuban.

The outspoken billionaire has been a frequent critic of the 28-year-old, and he controversially claimed that the point guard is “not a superstar” during last season’s NBA playoffs

This season, Westbrook is averaging 31 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists through 24 games. He leads the league in scoring and is on pace to be the first player to average a triple-double – double-digit totals in three different categories – since Oscar Robinson did so in the 1961-62 season.

The Dallas Mavericks owner admitted that the diminutive Westbrook “is putting up superstar numbers,” but refused to back down. “I’m not taking anything away from what he’s been able to accomplish, but I’m not going to change my definition,” Cuban told ESPN.

The Thunder are 15-9 this season, and Westbrook is widely considered a frontrunner for this season’s MVP award. Fortunately for him, Cuban does not have a vote.

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly. 

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at editorial@forward.com, subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.

Exit mobile version