Kel'el Ware Shines in NBA Preseason Opener

Former Indiana Hoosiers center Kel'el Ware had 13 points to go along with five rebounds and four blocks in his NBA preseason debut with the Miami Heat.

Ware, was the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft in eight NBA Summer Leauge games Ware averaged 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game and was named to the NBA 2K25 Summer League first team.

Right away, you noticed him defensively. While he is still learning our system, what it shows and what we've been emphasizing to him is that you still have to make plays. The system will get better, but making your presence felt, guarding the rim, blocking shots, going after the ball, rebounding the ball and making sure the opponent feels you when you're getting to the rim—he had his moments of doing all of those things. ... I was encouraged by how he played. said head coach Erik Spoelstra

After starting his career as a five star recruit playing at Oregon he transferred to Indiana for his sophomore season. Ware averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks per game.

The 7 foot center projects to be the backup center behind Bam Adebayo, Ware's comparison coming into the NBA Draft was Dallas Maverick center Dereck Livley.