PROFESSIONAL CAREER

Career Transactions

Was drafted in the first round (15th overall) by the Miami HEAT in the 2024 NBA Draft…signed by the HEAT on July 1, 2024.

2024-25 SEASON:

Appeared in 64 games (36 starts) for the HEAT and averaged 9.3 points (.554 FG%, .687 FT%, 7.4 rebounds, 1.11 blocks, 0.9 assists and 22.2 minutes…missed a total of six games due to injury, nine games as a DNP-CD and three games while on a G League assignment to the Sioux Falls Skyforce…sat out one game (Oct. 26) with a stomach illness, two games (Dec. 1-2) with right foot tendinitis and three games (Mar. 3-7) with a left knee strain…was named the NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for January…finished sixth in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting…ranked among the NBA leaders in blocks per game (23rd) and rebounds per game (26th)…was among the NBA rookie leaders in defensive rebounds (1st), double-doubles (1st), field goal percentage (2nd), total rebounds (4th), rebounds per game (4th), offensive rebounds (5th), total blocks (6th), blocks per game (6th), scoring average (8th), field goals made (tied-8th), plus/minus (11th), points (12th), minutes (14th), field goals attempted (15th) and steals (15th)…led the HEAT in blocked shots and blocks per game, tied Bam Adebayo for the team lead in dunks (124), finished second in offensive and total rebounds, double-doubles and double-figure rebound games and third in defensive rebounds…set the franchise rookie record for defensive rebounds in a season (357), placed second on the HEAT’s rookie blocked shots list (71) and tied Udonis Haslem for third place on the rookie list for total rebounds (473)…his career-high 17 rebounds on Apr. 7 vs. Philadelphia tied Udonis Haslem and Omer Yurtseven for the HEAT’s rookie single-game record and his career-high six block shots on Mar. 2 vs. New York tied Joel Anthony, Grant Long and Rony Seikaly for Miami’s single-game rookie record…scored in double figures 26 times, including four games with at least 20 points…his season high for consecutive games scoring in double figures was six (Mar. 15-25)…grabbed double-figure rebounds 23 times and posted 15 double-doubles…hit 13 consecutive field goal attempts from Dec. 28-Jan. 2 which was the high by a HEAT player in 2024-25…made his NBA debut in the season-opener on Oct. 23 vs. Orlando…made his first NBA start on Jan. 21 vs. Portland and recorded a double-double with 20 points and a game-high 15 rebounds becoming the first rookie in franchise history to record those totals without committing a turnover…became just the fourth rookie in franchise history to record a double-double in each of his first two starts…made two appearances for the Sioux Falls Skyforce in the Tip-Off Tournament while on a G League assignment…started both games and averaged 18.5 points (.552 FG%, .667 FT%), 10.0 rebounds, 3.50 blocks, 2.5 assists, 2.00 steals and 29.6 minutes…topped the Skyforce in rebounds in both games…scored in double figures, grabbed double-figure boards and posted double-doubles in each game…scored a Tip-Off Tournament season-high 20 points to go along with 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and two steals vs. Grand Rapids on Dec. 8…Season Highs: 25 points (twice), 17 rebounds (vs. Philadelphia, Apr. 7), six blocks (vs. New York, Mar. 2), five assists (vs. Charlotte, Mar. 23), three steals (at Brooklyn, Jan. 25) and 42:30 minutes (vs. Orlando, Jan. 27).

PLAYOFFS:

2025: Started all four games in Miami’s Opening Round series vs. Cleveland and averaged 4.8 points (.444 FG%, .000 FT%), 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 18.2 minutes…ranked second on the team in rebounds per game and defensive and total rebounds and tied for second in offensive rebounds and blocked shots…topped the HEAT in steals and blocks once each…made his NBA postseason debut in Game 1 at Cleveland on Apr. 20 and had two points, three rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 19:35 of action.

HONORS:

2024-25: Was named the NBA’s Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for January…was selected to the NBA Summer League First Team in Las Vegas in the summer of 2024.

BEFORE NBA

Played one season at Indiana after transferring from Oregon…appeared in 65 collegiate games (34 starts) and averaged 10.9 points (.538 FG%, .660 FT%), 6.7 rebounds, 1.55 blocks, 1.0 assists and 23.3 minutes…as a sophomore at Indiana, appeared in 30 games (all starts) and averaged 15.9 points (.586 FG%, .634 FT%), 9.9 rebounds, 1.87 blocks, 1.5 assists and 32.1 minutes…selected to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team…named to the All-Big Ten Second Team by the media and to the All-Big Ten Third Team by the coaches…was one of only three Indiana players over the last 25 years to average at least 15.0 points and 9.0 rebounds in a single season…led the team in scoring average, rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and double-doubles…ranked second in the Big Ten in double-doubles, rebounds per game and field goal percentage, fifth in blocks and 12th in scoring…recorded 10 20-point games, including a career-high 28 on two occasions (Nov. 26 vs. Harvard and Mar. 10 vs. Michigan State)…posted 15 double-doubles and grabbed at least 15 rebounds four times, including a season-high 17 at Rutgers on Jan. 9…recorded 19 multi-blocks games…as a freshman at Oregon, appeared in 35 games (four starts) and averaged 6.6 points (.457 FG%, .712 FT%), 4.1 rebounds, 1.29 blocks and 15.8 minutes…scored in double figures eight times, including a season-high 18 points vs. UConn on Nov. 24…blocked a shot in 27 of his 35 games, including 14 multi-block games.

PERSONAL LIFE

Full name is Kel’el Ware…is the son of Tamika and Cedrick Spaight…has a brother (Javarus Ware) and two sisters (Dyamyn Ware and Jazzmyn Spaight)…enjoys swimming and playing video games in his free time…would like to be involved with charities that help pets…earned a gold medal with USA Basketball at the 2022 FIBA U18 Americas Championship and was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.7 points (.672 FG%, .800 FT%), 6.8 rebounds, 1.83 blocks and 19.4 minutes…tallied 21 points, six rebounds and two assists in the gold medal game against Brazil…helped lead his high school team to consecutive state championships…averaged 20.3 points, 12.0 rebounds and 5.7 blocks as a senior at North Little Rock High School and earned 2022 Naismith National High School Boys Basketball All America Honorable Mention honors…was named a 2022 McDonalds High School All-American and was a 2022 Jordan Brand Classic participant…led his team to a 70-10 record his last three years at North Little Rock HS…says something most people don’t know about him is that he won a ping pong tournament in high school…wears size 17 sneakers.

Kel'el Ware