HOUSTON — The road that Rockets rookie forward Cam Whitmore traveled early on in his NBA career has been a bumpy one, to say the least. Houston draft Whitmore with the No. 20 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft — a steal since many considered him a top-10 talent coming out of Villanova University.
On Friday, he got an opportunity to showcase his offensive talent when he was called up by the Rockets, who needed bodies after forward Tari Eason (lower left leg soreness) and guard Reggie Bullock (illness) were ruled out against the Dallas Mavericks.
Whitmore took advantage of his opportunity and scored a career-high 14 points in 14 minutes in the 122-96 victory over the Mavs at Toyota Center. It was the first NBA action for Whitmore since the three-plus minutes he had versus the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 2.
“Just used my minutes as useful as I could be,” Whitmore said postgame. “Just be productive and help my team in any way possible. It was a good win from the time that all the starters went out. Just providing myself and just play my best when I’m out there.”
Cam got the minutes and brought the hustle tonight 🚀 pic.twitter.com/2eds9WzXxA
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) December 23, 2023
Whitmore’s offensive skills have been displayed this season in the 13 games he has played for Houston’s NBA G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Vipers. While there, he averaged 26.2 points per game in becoming the G League’s leading scorer.
On the other side of the ball, Whitmore’s defensive presence needs to improve to get him significant NBA minutes in Houston, which has a plethora of forwards on its roster. Head coach Ime Udoka was impressed by Whitmore’s attention to detail and ability to recognize what improvements he needed to focus on at RGV.
“I think his recognition of defense, what we’re doing, you could see that tonight,” Udoka said when asked about Whitmore’s play . “The switching has slowed down for him some, on and off the ball. He’s always gonna be aggressive offensively and physical, but making the right read and a little quicker decision… is what we wanted. Less ball stopping. You know, take the shot when it’s there, make a play for somebody else. And I think you’ve seen him grow in those areas, as well as rebounding and defense. He’s always been pretty strong.”
Being resilient is a character trait instilled into Whitmore from an early age, so going through adversity as a rookie doesn’t bother him as much as it would most 19-year-olds. Second-year forward Jabari Smith Jr., who at 20 is just a year ahead of Whitmore, sees the career trajectory he is on and believes it will benefit the team’s future.
“He’s learning that he can impact the game in different ways rather than scoring,” Smith told reporters postgame of Whitmore. “I see him crashing the glass, making a kick-ahead pass, picking up full-court. Stuff like that is just stuff that can separate him from other players because you know how athletic he is and how talented he is, but you just got to find a way to impact the game.”
“He’s learning that he can impact the game in different ways rather than scoring,” said Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. when asked about what he has seen so far from rookie Cam Whitmore. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/RnEL0UiKO1
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) December 23, 2023
The Vipers’ next game is Dec. 28, which gives Whitmore at least three more games with the Rockets to showcase his improvements, should an opportunity arise. Yet, if it does not, he is prepared to keep working on his game, which will help him sustain NBA longevity.
“My focus is always, keep the main goal the main goal,” Whitmore said of his work ethic. “I’m just thinking about the future, don’t think about the present. This will prepare me for my future, so that’s why I want to keep that in my head and keep my faith in God.”
“My focus is always keep the main goal, the main goal,” said Houston Rockets rookie forward Cam Whitmore when I asked him about dealing with the adversity this season. #Rockets #Sarge #TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/HDbvzJRGMP
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) December 23, 2023
