My Two Cents: Former Hoosier Kel'el Ware Making Great First Impression on Miami Heat

Former Indiana center Kel'el Ware has been great so far during his week of action with the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League.

Former Indiana center Kel'el Ware gets the opening tip for the Miami Heat during Saturday's NBA Summer League game. / Becky Rigel - Indiana Hoosiers on Sports Illustrated

LAS VEGAS, Nev. — There was a lot of hooting, hollering and high-fiving in the Miami Heat war room when they were able to pick former Indiana center Kel'el Ware with the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft a few weeks ago.

The euphoria hasn't stopped.

Ware, the 7-foot center who spent one season at Indiana after transferring from Oregon, has been a big hit so far in his first few weeks in pro ball. And in his third Summer League game on Saturday, he had 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting in an impressive 119-114 win over the Boston Celtics on the second day of Summer League action here in Las Vegas.

"Most of these rookies, we’re really throwing a lot at them, offense, defense, terminology, brand new coverages,'' Heat Summer League coach Don Bisaccio said. "And for Kel'el, he’s got to absorb that every day and be comfortable with us coaching him hard. Every single day, he’s been coming to work with that lunch-pail mentality. You can see it, even today. Maybe it didn’t look as good as that Sacramento game, but he did a lot of great things out there.''

Ware played two games with the Heat before Las Vegas, scoring 12 points the first night, and then going for 26 points and 11 rebounds against Sacramento last Sunday.

All 30 NBA teams have converged on Las Vegas for 10 days of Summer League action, and the Heat looked good in their first win here. They play again on Monday against Oklahoma City.

Ware is fitting in nicely, and adapting well to the pro game in a short period of time. He gives Indiana coach Mike Woodson a lot of credit for that. Woodson, who spent nearly four decades in the NBA as a player and coach before returning to Indiana three years ago, only had Ware for one year, but he pushed and prodded him to learn the skills that translate well to the NBA.

The adjustment has been smooth, Ware told me in a one-on-one interview Saturday night.

"Just being able to be with the guys and getting used to playing with them, that’s the best thing about being here so far,'' Ware said. "The more we play together, the more comfortable we’re all getting.

“I feel like I’m fitting into everything so far. It helps me a lot to have already been in that situation last year (at Indiana) with Coach Woody, and learning the same kind of things. Him beating on us and teaching us things, it’s definitely made this transition a lot easier to get into the league. ''

Bisaccio mentioned Ware's ability to be coached a coupler of times after the game. He's been impressed by that, and he knows a lot of that comes from his time at Indiana.

“Absolutely, 100 percent it is has something to do with Mike Woodson. I’ve never personally worked with Mike Woodson, but I’ve heard amazing things about him,'' said Bisaccio, who's been with the Heat for 10 years. "All the quotes you read about Kel’el, they say he’s extremely coachable and he works hard.

"You can see those habits and he’s somebody who thirsts to get better. If there’s something going on and you tell him to fix this, he’s going to do that on the next possession. He’s doing a great job of trying to continue to improve, and there’s going to be bumps and bruises. That happens with every rookie, but he’s continuing to take the next step each time.’’

Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) has been impressive this week during NBA Summer League action. / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Ware only had three rebounds, and the lanky 240-pounder did get pushed around a bit inside. He needs to get stronger, but that's no surprise. He's well aware, as are his coaches and training staff. He's already hard at work in the weight room.

“This kind of game was a great learning experience for Kel’el,'' Bisaccio said. "There are a lot of times when a team is shooting a lot of threes and you’re not 100 percent sure where the ball is going. They did a great job of crashing guys out of the corner, so he just needs to keep working on that timing.

"You said strength, and that’s going to be one of his No. 1 goals getting ready for the NBA game. He’s already been working his tail off in the weight room and our strength coaches are doing a fantastic job at it. He had some good finishes, and that’s all very encouraging. Obviously he’s athletic and he gets to the rim quickly. He’s somebody that can go up and contest every shot.'' 

The Heat are still in their title-chasing window, with stars like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. They want Ware to help with that. He'll play alongside Adebayo at times, but sub for him off the bench as well. Former Hoosier Thomas Bryant is on the Heat, too, and Ware might be stealing some of his minutes in the post.

The 2024-25 season is a long way off, of course, but these few weeks of game action during the summer is invaluable. Ware is only 20 years old, and he has a lot to learn. What the Heat like so much about him is that he knows that, too. He's been like a sponge.

"He's been great to be around,'' Bisaccio said. "I'm really excited to see everything that he can do for us., He's got a lot of skills on both ends of the floor. It's exciting to watch his growth. We've see a lot of that already.''

NBA Summer League schedule

• COMPLETE SCHEDULE, RESULTS: Here's the full schedule for the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas from July 12-22, along with results in real time from all the games played so far. CLICK HERE