With Heat soon back from break, Ware’s development has become important, defining aspect of season
With the Miami Heat returning from the All-Star break to resume its schedule this week, the Heat will spend the rest of its regular season trying to lift itself up the Eastern Conference standings in hopes of qualifying for the playoffs without needing to take part in the NBA’s play-in tournament.
But aside from the bottom-line results, the ongoing development of 20-year-old rookie center Kel’el Ware and the viability of his froncourt partnership with franchise cornerstone Bam Adebayo are among the most important things to monitor over the 29 regular-season games that the Heat has left to play following the All-Star break.
“Everything. Literally everything,” Ware said earlier this month when asked what parts of his game he’s hoping to improve during the final few months of his first NBA season. “Anything the coaching staff wants me to work on and wants me to get better at, I’m willing to get better at that. So everything.”
It’s that approach that has helped Ware become one of the front-runners for the NBA Rookie of the Year award despite logging double-digit minutes in just two of the Heat’s first 25 games this season.
After starting the season out of the Heat’s rotation, Ware has played double-digit minutes in each of the team’s last 28 games. He has also started in each of the Heat’s last 12 games while being named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in January along the way.
“Nightly he’s getting challenged, and these are all opportunities to grow and learn,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Ware. “He has to do it on the fly. But he’s been a great student. He’s been coachable, not only by the staff but by his teammates. He wants to get it right, he wants to make an impact, he wants to help and he’s facing different challenges.”
Since entering the Heat’s rotation, Ware has averaged 10.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, one assist and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 55 percent from the field and 36.5 percent on 2.3 three-point attempts per game during his string of 28 straight appearances with double-digit minutes. He averaged 23.5 minutes per game during this stretch.
Since becoming a full-time Heat starter alongside Adebayo, Ware has averaged 11.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 31.4 percent on 2.9 three-point attempts per game during his streak of 12 straight starts. He averaged 30.1 minutes per game during this span.
“There was just consistent improvement each week, it seemed like every month,” Spoelstra continued on Ware, with the Heat reconvening for its first practice after the All-Star break on Thursday in Miami before resuming its schedule on Friday against the Raptors in Toronto. “And then it got to the point where we needed to find more minutes for him and we weren’t finding enough minutes just having him back up Bam. This is what we talk about all the time. Make us watch you, make us have to play you, make us have to play you more and then I’ll figure it out with the rotation.”
The results have been mixed with Ware on the court.
Since Ware started playing consistent minutes, he has the Heat’s best individual net rating (team outscoring opponents by 0.8 points per 100 possessions with Ware on the court) over the last 28 games.
The Heat has a flat net rating of zero in the 190 minutes that Adebayo and Ware have played together over their 11 starts as a frontcourt duo. The Heat’s offense has been bad with that double-big look on the court during this stretch (scoring 103.6 points per 100 possessions for an offensive rating that would rank last in the NBA among teams for the season), but the Heat’s defense has been elite during the Adebayo-Ware minutes over their 11 starts together (allowing 103.6 points per 100 possessions for a defensive rating that would first in the NBA among teams for the season).
“Just showing him the ropes, how it’s done,” Adebayo, the Heat’s captain, said when asked how he’s helping Ware. “The expectation that we have of him, the standard that we have and obviously the culture that he’s in, and he’s buying into it. He’s soaking up all the information he can. Obviously, this is still a work in progress. But to me, he’s excelled well.”
Ware’s upside as an athletic 7-footer with a 7-foot-5 wingspan is obvious. He has the ability to serve as a rim protector on the defensive end and a dynamic roller on the offensive end, with the potential to also hit three-pointers.
That upside has been on display since Ware started playing consistent minutes two months ago, emerging as one of the top candidates for the NBA Rookie of the Year award after being selected by the Heat with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 Draft. According to BetOnline.ag, Ware currently has the second-best odds for the Rookie of the Year honor behind only San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle.
“He’s a very sure-minded individual,” Spoelstra said of Ware. “I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. He’s surprised me in some ways. That’s why I think when you’re preparing for the draft, it’s really hard to truly get to know somebody until they’re in your building, in your system doing the day-to-day work.
“He said his first year in college, he never said a word. That’s not the case with us. He’s a very engaging guy, he’s highly intelligent, he’s fun, he works, he’s coachable and he’s getting better from all that and I think he’s enjoying this whole process.”
One thing working in Ware’s favor is the fact that he has not allowed the extra attention and compliments he has generated through his play to impact his work on the court.
“I was never one for the attention,” Ware said. “But I really wasn’t even looking at the Rookie of the Year stuff. I was really just focused on getting better behind the scenes. Even now, I’m not really worried about that stuff. I’m just glad to be out there to be able to go hoop.”
There’s still plenty for Ware to work on and improve. He needs to get better as a rebounder, defender within the Heat’s system, finisher around the basket, three-point shooter, among other things.
“There’s always more to give,” Ware said. “There’s always a lesson to be learned, there’s more to give.”
It’s that attitude that has Heat coaches and players intrigued about what Ware can become, with that ongoing development an important part of what’s left of Miami’s season.
“Just him just getting his opportunity, I think everybody is starting to see what he’s capable of early on at a young age with little experience in the league,” Heat guard Tyler Herro said. “I think as he continues to get more reps, more experience, the sky is the limit for him and I could definitely see him … I don’t want to say anything yet, but he’s going to be a really good player.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 11:04 AM.
