Heat big Kel'el Ware had perfect response to criticism from coach Erik Spoelstra
Ware, who was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, had a standout rookie campaign down the stretch for the Heat. He averaged 9.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting moderately well for a big man.
Perhaps most important, per PBPStats, is that Miami played better when Ware shared the court with center Bam Adebayo compared to when Adebayo played without him. This suggests Miami have found an ideal frontcourt pairing of the future, especially if Ware can continue to improve his jumper.
According to Spoelstra, however, there was still plenty of room for improvement.
Spoelstra noted that he still expects to see more "professionalism" and consistency from Ware to meet Miami's standards.
The coach also mentioned the "approach" that Ware has for the game of basketball so he is as prepared as possible for the NBA and become a professional.
Ware was 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) from the field during his first game of summer league basketball for the Heat, and in the next game, he had just 3 rebounds while shooting 4-of-10 (40.0 percent) in the game.
During his next appearance in NBA 2K26 Summer League in Las Vegas, we saw one of the best showings yet from Ware.
He had 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 blocks in just the first half against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday.
During an in-game interview, he said that playing with "effort" is something he had not done in his previous few games.
But he planned on doing that for the next games he was going to play for Miami.
After the game, the big man said that he took the comments from his coach as "motivation" and that he knows Spoelstra wants to see the best version of him.
Ware said that fans can expect to see that type of energy from him all of the time moving forward. It seems like Spoelstra knew exactly what he was doing by calling Ware out so publicly.
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