Mark Cuban doesn't think Westbrook is MVP candidate
If Russell Westbrook needed any extra motivation against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, Mark Cuban may have provided it.
On the same day that Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters he's in awe of Westbrook's season, the team's owner said he wouldn't even have Westbrook on his MVP shortlist.
Mark Cuban says MVP is a toss-up between James Harden and LeBron James. Where is Russell Westbrook in that mix? "He's not."
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 6, 2017
Westbrook - who's looking to become the first player in 55 years to average a triple-double for an entire season - is considered the co-favorite (along with former teammate Harden) to take home the Maurice Podoloff Trophy.
This isn't the first time Cuban has thrown shade at Westbrook, as the outspoken billionaire said last year during a first-round playoff matchup between his Mavs and Russ' Thunder that the Oklahoma City point guard isn't a superstar. Those comments led Kevin Durant - Westbrook's teammate at the time - to label Cuban "an idiot." Earlier this season, Cuban clarified that he believes Westbrook is the closest thing to a superstar, if he isn't one already.
In Cuban's defense, award history isn't on Westbrook's side. His Thunder, while obviously reliant on his outrageous productivity, sit seventh in the Western Conference at 35-27. The last MVP from a team outside the top three in its conference was Moses Malone in 1982, when Malone's 46-36 Houston Rockets finished sixth in the West.