Heat’s Erik Spoelstra continues to challenge Kel’el Ware: ‘It’s got to impact the game’
The Miami Heat believes in center Kel’el Ware’s potential. After all, the Heat made Ware off-limits in trade discussions with the Phoenix Suns for 15-time All-Star forward Kevin Durant this past offseason.
It’s those high expectations that has Heat coach Erik Spoelstra continuing to push and challenge the 21-year-old Ware to be better.
It began this past offseason when Spoelstra challenged Ware to “improve his professionalism, his consistency, his approach every single day” after his underwhelming start to summer league in July.
It continued Monday when Spoelstra brushed off Ware’s impressive stat line in the Heat’s 103-93 preseason loss to the Milwaukee Bucks at Kaseya Center. Instead of complimenting Ware’s 18 points and 13 rebounds in 23 minutes, Spoelstra pointed to his rough plus/minus of minus 21.
“I’m not looking at the stat line,” Spoelstra said after Monday night’s defeat dropped the Heat to 0-2 this preseason. “I think everybody is looking at the wrong thing. It’s got to impact the game. I want him the next game to be a plus 20. That’s what it’s about. That’s part of the maturation for a young player. He does really good things and then when you aren’t able to do it consistently, it doesn’t impact the game. You don’t want to have deflating plays. You want to have inspiring plays.”
Ware made at least one inspiring play in Monday’s exhibition, hustling to steal a Bucks inbounds pass near midcourt and then taking it the other way to make a tough high-arcing circus shot while being fouled with 7:51 left in the fourth quarter.
Ware, who was taken by the Heat with the 15th overall pick in last year’s draft, totaled 14 points and six rebounds in Monday’s fourth quarter.
“There was a three-minute segment where it actually impacted the game. The rest of it has to impact the game,” Spoelstra continued, with the Heat continuing its six-game preseason schedule on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs at Kaseya Center (7:30 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Sun and NBA TV). “That steal he had at half-court was an inspiring play that impacted the moment. There was probably a three-minute stretch there, I want to take that three-minute stretch and see what his plus-minus was on that because it impacted the game.”
Ware has accepted Spoelstra’s challenge.
“It’s all about getting to a point where I’m affecting winning basketball,” Ware said. “And so, you know, just being able to go out there and impact the game in a positive way.”
But Ware is also dealing with the possibility of losing his starting spot after closing last season as the Heat’s starting center.
As a rookie, Ware earned consistent minutes and then was promoted to a starting role in January after logging double-digit minutes in just two of the Heat’s first 25 games last regular season. The 7-foot Ware started next to the 6-foot-9 Bam Adebayo to form a double-big lineup for the final three months of the season.
Ware started 33 games alongside Adebayo last regular season and the Heat posted a 14-19 record in those games with that double-big frontcourt. The Heat outscored opponents by 4.6 points per 100 possessions in the 541 minutes that Adebayo and Ware played together last regular season, as the defense produced impressive results but the offense was underwhelming with this duo on the court.
After being moved into a full-time starting role, Ware averaged 10.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 54.4% from the field and 21 of 76 (27.6%) on threes during his final 38 regular-season appearances last season. That midseason push was enough for Ware to end the season as one of the league’s best rookies and earn a spot on the NBA All-Rookie Second Team.
Now, Spoelstra is seemingly moving away from the Adebayo-Ware starting frontcourt. Not only has Spoelstra started forward Nikola Jovic in Ware’s place in each of the first two preseason games this year, but Adebayo and Ware haven’t logged even a second of playing time together yet this preseason.
“I’m not surprised,” Ware said of not sharing the court with Adebayo yet this preseason. “I’m not the head coach, so I can’t make that decision.”
But Ware can influence Spoelstra’s decision with more consistent and impactful play. That’s what Heat coaches want Ware to understand.
“That’s part of him as a young player connecting the dots,” Spoelstra said of Ware’s growing pains. “It does not matter if you have 18 and 13 if it’s not impacting the game. ... That’s part of being a young player, and that’s why I enjoy coaching him because my responsibility is to help teach him how to connect the dots and become more consistent where it now leads to winning. And all the young players in this league have to go through that.”
This story was originally published October 7, 2025 at 9:50 AM.
