Kel'el Ware ( ; born April 20, 2004) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

center for the

Miami Heat The Miami Heat are an American professional basketball team based in Miami. The Heat compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern C ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene, Oregon, Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCA ...

and the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

Early life and high school career

Kel’el Ware was born on April 20, 2004, in

North Little Rock, Arkansas North Little Rock (often abbreviated "NLR") is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. Located on the north side of the Arkansas River, it is the Twin cities, twin city of Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock. In the late nineteenth ce ...

, and attended

North Little Rock High School North Little Rock High School is a public school in North Little Rock, Arkansas, that is administered by the North Little Rock School District. As of the 2016–17 school year, the high school consists of one campus, which holds 9th - 12th gr ...

from 2018 to 2022. As a junior, he averaged 16.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 4.1 blocks per game. As a senior, Ware averaged 20.3 points, 12 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game. He also played in the

Jordan Brand Classic The Jordan Brand Classic is a high school all star basketball game played annually in April. The game's rosters feature the best and most highly recruited high school boys and girls in the senior class. In 2015, a girl's game was introduced. Th ...

Nike Hoop Summit The Nike Hoop Summit is an international basketball all-star game sponsored by Nike, Inc., Nike, held once a year, which features the USA Basketball Men's Junior Select Team against a World Select Team of international players. The players demons ...

and the 2022 McDonald's All-American Boys Game during his senior year.

Recruiting

Ware was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class, according to major recruiting services. On August 9, 2021, he committed to playing college basketball for

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

over offers from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, Auburn, Baylor,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Mem ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

and

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

. Ware was also offered a two-year contract for $900,000 from

Overtime Elite Overtime Elite is a basketball league for 16–20-year-olds, based in Atlanta, Georgia. The league is owned and operated by Overtime and was founded by Dan Porter and Zack Weiner. History Overtime launched the Overtime Elite basketball leagu ...

, but he declined the offer and maintained his commitment to Oregon.

College career

Ware entered his freshman season at Oregon as the Ducks' second center. He also entered the season as a potential first-round selection in the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

. After averaging 26 minutes played, 10.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over the first nine games of the season, Ware saw a decline in playing time due to what Oregon's coaching staff believed to be an inconsistent work ethic. He ultimately averaged 6.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game on the season. At the end of the season, Ware entered the NCAA transfer portal. Ware ultimately transferred to

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. He started at center in the Hoosiers' season-opener against Florida Gulf Coast and recorded the first

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the ter ...

of his college career with 13 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks and two steals as Indiana won 69–63. Ware set a new career high with 22 points scored while also grabbing 12 rebounds on November 16, 2023, in a 89–80 victory over Wright State. He re-set his career high in scoring with 28 points in a 89–76 win over

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

. After the season, Ware declared for the

2024 NBA draft The 2024 NBA draft was the 78th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft. Unlike recent years, the 2024 draft took place over two nights. This was the first NBA draft to be held on multiple nights since the draft ...

, forgoing his remaining college eligibility.

Professional career

Miami Heat / Sioux Falls Skyforce (2024–present)

Ware was selected with the 15th overall pick by the

in the

and on July 2, 2024, he signed with the Heat. Ware made his NBA debut on October 23, 2024, in a 116–97 loss to the

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

. On January 23, 2025, Ware scored 20+ points in 3 straight games in games against the Spurs, Trail Blazers and the Bucks which earned him the Rookie of the Month award. On April 19, 2025, Ware helped the Heat beat the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Easte ...

in the Play-In Tournament, and he made his Playoffs debut in a 121-100 loss to the

Cleveland Cavaliers The Cleveland Cavaliers, often referred to as the Cavs, are an American professional basketball team based in Cleveland. The Cavaliers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Divis ...

on April 20, 2025.

National team career

Ware played for the United States under-18 basketball team at the

2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship The 2022 FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship was an international under-18 basketball tournament that was held from 6 to 12 June 2022 in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. The twelfth edition of the biennial competition, this is also the qualify ...

. He was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 15.7 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks as the United States won the gold medal.

Personal life

Ware is the son of Tamika and Cedrick Spaight (stepfather). He has two brothers, Javarus Ware and Kashis Spaight and two sisters, Dyamyn Ware and Jazzmyn Spaight.

Career statistics

NBA

Regular season

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Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

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Playoffs

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College

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, 30 , , 30 , , 32.2 , , .586 , , .425 , , .634 , , 9.9 , , 1.5 , , .6 , , 1.9 , , 15.9 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 65 , , 34 , , 23.3 , , .538 , , .337 , , .660 , , 6.7 , , 1.0 , , .5 , , 1.6 , , 10.9

References

External links

Indiana Hoosiers bioOregon Ducks bioUSA Basketball bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ware, Kel'el 2004 births Living people 21st-century American sportsmen American men's basketball players Basketball players from Arkansas Centers (basketball) Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Miami Heat draft picks Miami Heat players Oregon Ducks men's basketball players Sportspeople from North Little Rock, Arkansas Sioux Falls Skyforce players