One pick after another passed, and Cam Whitmore still hadn’t heard his name called.

Players and their families embraced.

Fans cheered.

Still, nothing.

Nearly two-thirds of the first round was over, and the former Villanova star was still waiting.

Tears ran down his cheeks.

Then, at No. 20, the nightmare was over, at last.

The Rockets, who ironically considered the versatile forward at No. 4, were taking him at No. 20.

At last.

“Different feeling, but then again, it’s the same feeling,” the 6-foot-7 Whitmore said later. “I’ve been overlooked a lot of times in my life, so it didn’t really faze me. I’m just really happy to be in the NBA. I’ve been dreaming about that all my life. Just really grateful for my parents being there, my friends, family. I mean, everybody is here. The best day of my life. It’s just really the start.”

There were a number of theories for his fall.

Concerning medicals.

Poor workouts.

A solid though unspectacular and injury-marred freshman season in which he averaged 12.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and shot 34.3 percent from 3-point range after missing the first month due to a right thumb injury.

“It motivates me to like 150 percent,” he said. “It’s just something where I’ve got to rethink, go in the next day, new mind, free mind. Coming into that organization with a chip on my shoulder, have a lot of motivation on my mind.”

Read the New York Post’s coverage for the 2023 NBA Draft:

Asked about any potential health problems, the 18-year-old said, “I promise you there’s not [any issues]. I have no idea. I don’t know what happened. But I feel fine. It’s my body. If they think it’s something different, they have their own opinions. But at the end of the day, it’s my body.”

Whitmore is joining an intriguing, young team in Houston — a group that now includes Jalen Green, Kevin Porter Jr., Jabari Smith Jr. and fellow first-round pick Amen Thompson, the fourth-overall pick.

There is talk James Harden could wind up there, too.

“I’m just another piece to add to the table, add to the recipe they’ve got going on. Just happy to be a part of that organization. Just a lot of rebuilding that has to be going on, but it doesn’t really faze me,” Whitmore said. “At the end of the day, I’m just ready to be a Rocket.”