The Houston Rockets may have gotten one of the steals of the 2023 NBA Draft when they selected Villanova's Cam Whitmore in the middle of the first round. Whitmore was still drafted in the first round but what makes him a possible steal is that he was lottery caliber player who was projected to be among the top picks. Time will tell if the Rockets ended up with one of the best players in the draft but what is clear is that Whitmore is very talented and fits the Rockets youth rebuild. In a segment with SiriusXM NBA Radio, Whitmore revealed that it was a former Rocket, Russell Westbrook, whom he pattered his game after.

“I would say growing up, I loved OKC, I loved that old team when it was Russ, Harden, KD was over there, Reggie Jackson, all them guys, Ibaka. So it was like that whole team I fell in love with, they just didn't get the job done,” Whitmore said. “Russ, great player, great person, he carries that competitive spirit with him everywhere he goes. Having that dog, having that explosive mentality, the way he dunks too, I kind of try to dunk like him a little bit.”

If Cam Whitmore can be only half the player Russell Westbrook is, that would certainly bode well for the Rockets. Whitmore played only one season at Villanova before declaring for the NBA Draft. During that season he averaged 12.5 points per game and 5.3 rebounds with splits of 47.8 percent shooting from the field, 34.3 percent shooting from the three-point line and 70.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.