Rockets Rookie Cam Whitmore Had the Dunk of the Year Sadly Taken Away by Refs

This was too cool not to count.

The NBA regular season hasn’t even started yet, but we already have a “Dunk of the Year” nominee, courtesy of Houston Rockets rookie Cam Whitmore.

Whitmore, whose draft-night fall from being a potential top-5 pick to landing with Houston at No. 20 was one of the biggest surprises of the draft, showed off his incredible athleticism during a preseason matchup with the Spurs on Monday night with a thundering transition dunk. Whitmore led the break in transition and sprinted down the lane, nearly jumping over Spurs veteran Doug McDermott to throw down an incredible jam.

Unfortunately for Whitmore, the dunk didn’t officially count, as the referee called him for an offensive foul. But the video of the dunk lives forever, and it’s spectacular.

And another angle:

Whitmore told reporters after the game that he disagreed with the charge call, but still seemed pleased with his work, grinning as he described the moment to the media.

Highlight-reel plays like that one illustrate the tantalizing potential Whitmore has, and why he could go down as the biggest steal of the 2023 draft class. 

The dunk certainly earned plenty of attention from fans around the league.