Wizards’ Cam Whitmore officially out for season with blood clot

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Wizards’ Cam Whitmore officially out for season with blood clot

Joshua Valdez, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Thu, Jan 15, 2026 ·

5 min read

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The Washington Wizards took a low-risk swing this past offseason when they sent two second-round picks to the Houston Rockets for Cam Whitmore , a 2023 first-round pick who is supremely athletic and explosive when driving to the rim. However, the 21-year-old wing has been out for weeks with a blood clot in his shoulder named "deep vein thrombosis," and the Wizards announced an unfortunate update about the situation on Thursday via social media.

" Washington Wizards guard/forward Cam Whitmore has started the recovery process for a diagnosed venous condition and will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season," Wizards PR stated. "The team will provide additional updates as appropriate."

Washington has applied for a disabled player exception , per HoopsHype's Michael Scotto. If granted, the Wizards will be allowed to sign a replacement player for half of Whitmore's salary or for the amount of the non-taxpayer's mid-level exception , whichever is lesser, per HoopsRumors. The Maryland native's club option counts for $3.5 million against the salary cap this season.

Whitmore finishes the 2025-26 campaign with 9.2 points per game on 45.6 percent shooting (28.6 percent 3-point) and 2.8 rebounds over 16.9 minutes in 21 games. The former Villanova Wildcat had three games with 19-plus points and shot 52.3 percent (35.5 percent 3-point) from the field in November.

Whitmore last played in Washington's 146-101 home loss to the Boston Celtics on Dec. 4. Head coach Brian Keefe said that the Wizards needed to "reevaluate what we're doing" after the contest, but refused to single out any specific player. However, he then said the 6-foot-6, 230-pounder needed to "live up to certain standards" after their 131-116 home defeat to the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 6, per The Houston Chronicle's Varun Shankar. Whitmore was made available pre-game after being listed as "questionable" with an illness on Dec. 5, but didn't play.

Washington then announced that Whitmore would be out indefinitely with deep vein thrombosis on Dec. 23 after missing the previous two games with "right shoulder soreness." Keefe told ClutchPoints on Jan. 2 that the 2022 McDonald's All-American was progressing and "in good spirits," but "it's gonna take some time."

Cam Whitmore 's homecoming season showed potential amid adversity

Whitmore, who went to high school just over 30 miles from the Wizards' Capital One Arena (originally the MCI Center and Verizon Center after that), grew up a fan of the team and regularly attended games, per Monumental Sports Network. His high-flying dunks and overall slashing ability took him from Severn, Maryland's Archbishop Spalding High School to the NBA, but he never became a core piece for the Rockets amid injuries and conflict with head coach Ime Udoka over "expectations and buy-in," per Locked On Rockets' Jackson Gatlin.

That led to Washington trading for Whitmore over the summer, adding another DMV-area native to its deep stable of young talent. Second-year guard Bub Carrington, of course, hails from Baltimore .

Whitmore got off to a quiet start this season until he notched 19 points (7-13 FG, 3-6 3-point) with three rebounds over 29 minutes in the Wizards' 111-105 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Nov. 8. The 2023 Big East Freshman of the Year admitted to ClutchPoints postgame that he had yet to get used to playing with the team.

"No, not yet," he said. "It's still early, I think the ninth or 10th game…I'm still getting used to the new environment and trying to build chemistry with these guys…Still figuring 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."

Whitmore then tallied 20 points (6-11 FG, 1-5 3-point) with two rebounds, two steals, and one assist over 29 minutes in a 137-135 overtime loss to the Detroit Pistons on Nov. 10 before notching four more double-digit-scoring games in November. He never fully assimilated into Washington's motion offense, as he finished the season with just 0.7 assists. However, the following dime to second-year wing Kyshawn George during the Wizards' 120-109 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 19 shows what he's capable of.

Whitmore has one year left on his contract, as Washington picked up his 2026-27 team option on Oct. 30. If the front office keeps him in town through next season, he'll have another chance to excel with the "Wiz Kids," this time likely alongside four-time All-Star Trae Young and whoever the team drafts in the lottery this summer.

Up next for the Wizards are road dates with the Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets on Friday and Saturday, respectively, before hosting the Los Angeles Clippers and Nuggets. After that, they'll face the Charlotte Hornets on the road before hosting the Portland Trail Blazers , Milwaukee Bucks , Los Angeles Lakers , Kings, and New York Knicks .

Friday's game stats at 10:00 p.m. ET at Sacramento's Golden 1 Center.

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