Houston Rockets rookie forward Cam Whitmore was just named MVP of the Las Vegas Summer League.
The do-it-all forward by way of Archbishop Spalding High Cchool in Severn, Maryland, who underwhelmed in his one year at Villanova, averaged 20.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and three steals per game out in Vegas.
He led the Rockets to the brink of a summer league championship losing to the Cavaliers in the title game on Monday night.
Whitmore’s skill set and build make him very difficult to match up with. Standing 6 feet 7 and 235 pounds, he’s got brute strength to take smaller defenders into the post. But he’s also supremely athletic, and that athleticism allows him to blow past bigger defenders. His teammate and 2022 No. 3 overall pick Jabari Smith Jr, raved about him following his being named Summer League MVP.
“He has a real, real unique game, plays really hard. He’s young, he’s just real explosive.”
Smith Jr. would know, he was given the assignment of guarding Whitmore often in summer League practices.
Whitmore Uses Draft Slide As Motivation
Coming into the 2023 NBA draft, Whitmore, despite pedestrian numbers at Villanova of 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game, was still named Big East Freshman of the Year and thought to be a lock to go in the top 10 of the draft. That didn’t happen as he slipped all the way to No. 20, and the Rockets under new head coach Ime Udoka pounced.
For Whitmore it was a bit of a shock after hearing from so many draft experts that he’d go earlier. But the resilient Whitmore took it all in stride. After being selected the high-riser talked to reporters about his wait.
“I had no idea where I was going to go,” Whitmore said about his draft slide. “Every time they kept counting down, didn’t know where I was going. I was praying, talking to God the whole time, but it is what it is. I was training in Houston, so I’m going to go back.
“I’ve been overlooked a lot of times in my life, so it didn’t really faze me,” Whitmore asserted. “I’m just really happy to be in the NBA. I dreamed about that my whole life. I’m really grateful for my parents being there, friends, family — everybody’s here. Best day of my life, so this is really the start.”
Three weeks later Whitmore wins Summer League MVP. Now that’s how you handle adversity.
Rockets Have A Lot Of Young Talent
There’s no shortage of young, explosive talent in H-Town, with the aforementioned Whitmore and Smith Jr. to begin with, but there’s so much more. Like No. 4 overall pick Amen Thompson, the team’s future point guard. And 2021 No. 2 overall pick Jalen Green, plus rising Turkish big man Alperen Sengun. Can’t forget guard Kevin Porter Jr. as well, but the Rockets did a very smart thing this offseason.
They signed former Toronto Raptors point guard Fred Vanvleet, who’s also an NBA champion. And they brought in defensive stalwart Dillon Brooks from the Memphis Grizzlies, two vets to help the young guys mature and learn to be pros.
Houston is a perfect landing spot for Whitmore, who’ll battle Smith Jr. and Brooks daily in practice.
