How Cam Whitmore Fits with the OKC Thunder

Next up in the Thunder Fits series, which will detail each draft pick's fit with the Thunder, is high-flying Villanova forward Cam Whitmore

With the Oklahoma City Thunder entering the offseason it’s time to switch gears to prospect evaluation mode.

And this year’s impending draft has plenty of players that can help bolster the OKC core.

No matter how unlikely it is Oklahoma City lands certain prospects, the Thunder Fit series will take a look at how they would fit with the current team’s configuration. And with a war chest of assets, you never know how far the front office could move up to acquire a player.

The next prospect up in the series is hyper-explosive forward Cam Whitmore of Villanova.

Here’s how Whitmore could fit alongside the rest of the Thunder core:

Offense

Offensively, Whitmore would immediately stand out as Oklahoma City’s most athletic player. He has great off-ball instincts, and would offer a huge boost as a cutter, lob and transition threat.

As a freshman at Villanova, Whitmore averaged 12.5 points on 48 percent shooting. He wouldn’t offer much in the ways of floor-spacing, at least early, but for all intents and purposes could thrive as an ancillary scorer.

His passing and playmaking would be leagues behind the rest of the Thunder starters, which is something the front office might value more in other prospects.

The primary reason Whitmore is mocked so high is his elite potential as a scorer and creator, which would be hard to realize next to Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Josh Giddey, Jalen Williams and more.

He could be a decent cog in the Thunder machine, but it might limit his ceiling longterm without proper ball-handling developmental minutes.

Defense

Defensively, Whitmore has solid instincts and can use his length and explosiveness well on that end, too.

He’s a solid defensive playmaker, averaging 1.4 steals per game and turning plenty of that into rim-rocking dunks on the other end.

He wouldn’t be a headliner on the Thunder defense with Luguentz Dort and Chet Holmgren running the show, but would blend in just fine in OKC’s do-it-all system.

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