WASHINGTON WIZARDS MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 8, 2025

Cam Whitmore

Mavericks 111, Wizards 105

Q. Cam, you pretty much had a solid game tonight. What really worked for you personally, on a personal level, to get those open shots and make those transitions out there on the floor?

CAM WHITMORE: Just being in the right spot at the right time, just movement off the ball and just playing as a team. That's really it.

Q. How does the team be more effective in the fourth quarter against a switching defense late in the game?

CAM WHITMORE: It starts on the defensive end. Just stop the guys from scoring. That's mainly from scoring which was Naji Marshall and PJ a little bit towards the end. But yeah, I feel like we gave a lot of second-chance points and we should have been boxing out a little more and crashing all five guys to the basket a little bit more.

I felt like down the stretch it was really the second-chance points that really kind of hurt us.

Q. Do you feel like you've gotten used to being a part of the Wizards yet after being with Houston for the first two years?

CAM WHITMORE: No, not yet. It's still early. I think the ninth or tenth game, whatever it is. But I'm still kind of getting used to the new environment, the new team, and trying to build chemistry with these guys. It's too early to call it, but I'm still trying to figure out what my role is and how I can fit in with these guys. But I feel like we have a bright future, to be honest.

Q. Cam, what have you learned about Brian Keefe as a coach?

CAM WHITMORE: I said before, he's a very hard-nosed blunt coach where he tells you one thing what to do, and that's the type of coach any player wants. He wants a coach that loves you and cares about you, but also when it gets down to the thick of things, just go out there and give our all for him and for the team, also, but yeah, I like him a lot.

Q. You've seen less minutes in the last couple games. How did the coaching staff explain that to you, and what was it like to respond tonight with the points that you did?

CAM WHITMORE: They didn't explain nothing to me. It's all about staying ready, all about preparation, what you do before the game and what you do after the game yesterday. It's all about preparation and being ready. Coach Keefe always praises like he's going to play all 15 guys no matter what, so just be ready whenever your name is called.

Q. Cam, on the defensive end, what affords you, aside from obviously the body size and strength that you have, but what are you seeing out there when you're kind of playing in that off-ball role that allows you to have the success --

CAM WHITMORE: To my own defense?

Q. Yeah.

CAM WHITMORE: Mainly, I feel like one thing I'm really good at is trying to get steals. I said before, it feels like a cornerback, DB type of style where I can be the hunter, the ball is on the other side of the court and I'm like low man and there's like a skip pass happening. I feel like I can get those steals or be a disruptive guy when somebody comes to set a pin down, a screen, and I'm going up and disrupting the pass and the screen, so I feel like I can really be that type of player where I can be in those gaps and get steals off of that.

I feel I can be better low man.

Q. From an offensive standpoint, do you realize when you're out there how much force that you can generate and play with when you are head line driving and attacking your defender downhill and how it kind of looks like they're a deer in the headlights, if you will? Where does the mindset to just -- a lot of guys have the flashy play, but when you go north-south, it seems like no one can really get in front of you. How did you have that mindset tonight?

CAM WHITMORE: Not necessarily tonight. I'm not going to lie, I've really kind of had that game since high school. Just when I get the ball and I get the rebound I go coast to coast, and when I go coast to coast I kind of find some gaps where I can fit in and try and get to the basket sort of. But yeah, it's really about finding gaps when I'm trying to get to the basket coast to coast.

Q. I asked Naji Marshall earlier about what it feels like to play at home, especially with guys from the whole region. How does that make you feel, you, Bub, Naji all from this kind of area competing at the highest level?

CAM WHITMORE: It's a blessing. I've said it before, just having Wizards across my chest is just kind of a different feeling. It's kind of hitting me now.

Yeah, like I said, having Bub as my teammate since we were little kids growing up, it's just like playing in the backyard again. Same thing with Naji, too. He was in the Brunson League and we kind of -- I've known him off of being in Baltimore and playing with Team Melo, so it was a good friendly battle.

Q. Did you have any previous conversation prior?

CAM WHITMORE: I mean, during the game, yeah, when I was trying to get a lob, he was not letting it happen. He was definitely protecting off of that.

Q. As far as your off ball movement, how big of an asset do you think that can be for your overall offensive game, moving without the ball?

CAM WHITMORE: I feel like since I got in the league, that's kind of been my game, an off-ball type of scoring guy. I never really was a dominant on the ball type of guy trying to score unless I really have to with the shot clock counting down. Really nothing has changed. I kind of like being off ball, kind of getting pin-down screens or having some shoulder action so when I'm coming up an elevator screen or something like that, catching and shooting.

Q. To the point earlier about the inconsistent minutes, after a game like this where you get a lot of minutes and you're very efficient, how do you go about stacking that and maintaining that to the next game?

CAM WHITMORE: It's nothing new. I've been here before. Just stay grounded, keep level, keep my head on straight and I've got some loved ones behind me that keep me grounded, so I'm grateful for it.

Q. How do they keep you grounded?

CAM WHITMORE: Talk to me every day. You know, you have loved ones, too, so just keeping you level headed, keeping you grounded. There's nothing really to it.

Q. What did you like about your game tonight and what would you like to improve?

CAM WHITMORE: It's just a start. Just the start of something that I'm building and the whole team is building so I'm not really putting any pressure on me, but I'm just trying to keep stacking days, keep stacking these good games I'm trying to have. So this is the first one.