January surge propels Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware to NBA Rookie of the Year favorite

The 2022 North Little Rock graduate is averaging 13.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game in January

Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware / Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Before the calendar flipped to 2025, Miami Heat rookie Kel’el Ware had not recorded a game with double-digit points in his young NBA career. 

Now in the final week of January, the North Little Rock alumnus is the betting favorite to become the Heat’s first Rookie of the Year winner after working his way up from being third-string.

The 7-foot center had his breakthrough game against the Indiana Pacers on Jan. 2, finishing with 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including 3 of 4 from three-point range. He has gone from averaging just under seven minutes per game to more than 22 this month.

Ware has really made his presence felt over the past couple of weeks, compiling his first career double-double on Jan. 13. He has had two more since then for Miami, which sits in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings at 22-22 and will play host to the Orlando Magic on Monday night.

For January, Ware has averaged 13.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 56% from the field and 41% from three-point range.

Ware just missed being a lottery pick in last June’s NBA Draft, getting selected by the Heat at No. 15 after averaging a near double-double in his lone season at Indiana. He began his college career at Oregon but transferred to play for the Hoosiers after his freshman season. 

Playing for Johnny Rice at North Little Rock, Ware was on arguably the greatest team in Arkansas boys basketball history, which included Charlotte Hornet and former Arkansas Razorback Nick Smith Jr., plus Corey Washington, who is one of the top players for Wichita State. The trio led the Charging Wildcats to the program’s 16th state championship in 2022 and finished the season at No. 12 in the final SBLive/Sports Illustrated national Top 25 rankings.

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