Inside The Heat

Miami Heat's Erik Spoelstra Reveals Area Kel`el Ware Has Improved Most

Shandel Richardson|
Jan 11, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) dunks the basketball during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images
Jan 11, 2025; Portland, Oregon, USA; Miami Heat center Kel'el Ware (7) dunks the basketball during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

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Miami Heat


Miami Heat center Kel`el Ware is making huge improvements in his first season.


Coach Erik Spoelstra said it's more from a standpoint outside of basketball. Ware is putting in work behind the scenes.


"It's not just what's going on, on the court," Spoelstra said. "It's the application, the commitment, the behind the scenes. He's really been a joy to coach for everybody, the weight room staff, the training staff, the coaching staff. He's just open to the coaching and trying to get better. You can see how unique of a talent and skills set that he has and he's only 20 years old." 


Ware is averaging 6.6 points and 3.8 rebounds on 58 percent shooting.

WEMBY COMPARED TO THREE-TIME MVP

San Antonio Spurs second-year center Victor Wembanyama is already being called a generational talent.

Now, he's being somewhat compared to three-time MVP Nikola Jokic of the Denver Nuggets. Miami Spoelstra, who faces the Spurs Sunday at Kaseya Center, didn't say the players were similar.

Instead, he was impressed how the Spurs utilize Wembanyama similarly to Jokic is in Denver. Both teams run their offense through big men who can score in the paint or from the perimeter.

"He seems like he's downloading and applying things every game that he's experiencing," Spoelstra said. "All the different coverages and the different ways he can put pressure on a defense. I think Mike Malone actually said as they were prepping for their game. They use him in a lot of different ways the Nuggets use Jokic. Two totally different players. It's not the comparison. It's just how many different places they utilize him on the floor." 

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star. TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com You can subscribe to our YouTube channel here Follow all of our Miami Heat coverage on Facebook here