Miami Heat rookie center Kel’el Ware has been consistently good in five Summer League games in Las Vegas.
On Monday, he leads the Heat in the championship game against the Memphis Grizzlies at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Ware, who was chosen with the No. 15 pick in June, is averaging 17.4 points, eight rebounds, 1.6 blocks while shooting 58.6 percent from the field. He is expected to allow the Heat to move center Bam Adebayo to power forward.
On Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors, he scored 18 points and pulled down five rebounds in a come from behind 102-99 victory.
Ware has emerged as one of the top big men in the summer league. His statistics are staggering considering he only had three rebounds against the Boston Celtics last Saturday night. He followed it up with a 12-rebound performance on Wednesday night against the Dallas Mavericks.
“Kel’el did a heck of a job,” Heat summer league coach Dan Bisaccio said after Wednesday’s game. “We continue to challenge him defensively. He took that challenge. Everything at the rim was contested. We want to continue to see that. Obviously, this is never enough.”
Ware is modest, if anything. He credits his teammates for putting him in a position to succeed.
“It’s not just about me.” Ware said. “I’m happy the whole team is winning.”
