With dazzling displays on both offense and defense, newly drafted rookie Cam Whitmore (No. 20 in the first round) made quite an impression for the Rockets at the NBA’s 2023 summer league.
Across six games, Houston’s athletic 6-foot-7 forward averaged 19.3 points (44.7% FG), 5.2 rebounds, and 2.5 steals in 31 minutes, and the Rockets went 5-1 en route to a runner-up finish in Las Vegas. That led to Whitmore earning MVP honors days after his 19th birthday.
The man who orchestrated Whitmore’s usage was summer league head coach Ben Sullivan, who will be the lead assistant to Ime Udoka once training camps for the 2023-24 season begin in October.
In a new interview with Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Sullivan shared this regarding Whitmore’s encouraging summer-league play:
The raw talent jumps off the page. Like his physical gifts, speed, athleticism, explosiveness. He’s finishing around the rim, able to cut and score, shooting 3s and pull-ups and getting to the basket. He displayed a lot of different stuff. And I really, I really like it.
And he’s just so young, like he’s 19 years old. He’s going to have to grow in all areas of his game — his defense, his offense, understanding of concepts, what we’re trying to execute as a team, spacing. There’s a list that goes on and on for any young player that comes into the league.
With veterans Dillon Brooks and Jae’Sean Tate, second-year prospects Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason, and the potential move of Kevin Porter Jr. due to Fred VanVleet taking Porter’s previous spot as starting point guard, the forward spots are crowded in Houston. Thus, it isn’t clear if Whitmore will have an immediate role when the 2023-24 regular season opens in October.
But even if Whitmore’s time for NBA shine isn’t this October, he’s already turned enough heads that it shouldn’t be too far away.
#Rockets assistant Ben Sullivan, unplugged on @TheAthletic
▪️X’s and O’s carryover from Vegas to Houston
▪️Upside of Whitmore/Thompson + growth of Jabari/Tari
▪️The individualized anatomy of shooting
▪️Spacing, efficiency and more. [$2 sub inside]https://t.co/IhsBQL9cs3
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) July 24, 2023
