Back in South Florida after his monthlong summer-league whirlwind, Kel’el Ware arrived at the Miami Heat’s youth basketball camp this week ahead of the game — already in possession of a championship ring.
Granted, the bauble merely was for winning the Las Vegas NBA Summer League with a victory Monday night on the UNLV campus, but it nonetheless provided a jumpstart for the No. 15 selection out of Indiana in last month’s draft.
“It’s great,” the 7-footer said during his appearance at Slam Miami. “That was my first summer league. So just being able to be part of that with the guys that I played with and to come out on top was definitely a great feeling.”
Named first-team All-Summer League amid the Heat’s 6-0 Las Vegas run, Ware said his takeaway was both eye-opening and expected.
“About myself,” he said, “just having more confidence in myself to go out there and play basketball the way I’ve always been playing and just going out there and competing.”
And, yes, even from summer league, congratulations from the Heat’s varsity, including from Heat center Bam Adebayo, who is in France ahead of his appearance at the Paris Olympics, and former Heat captain Udonis Haslem, who spent time with the Heat’s summer roster in Las Vegas.
“Bam texted me,” Ware said. “UD texted me, of course. So far, them two.”
Next up is settling into his new home base in South Florida, having left for summer leagues in San Francisco and Las Vegas almost immediately after the draft.
“For right now, this is home. So I’m here right now getting ready and stuff,” he said, as he mixed with those at the Heat’s youth camp. “This is great, just being able to show the fans that I’m more than a basketball player. Just coming out here, showing my personality side of things.
“That’s a blessing in itself, just for anybody to look up to you. If somebody is looking up to me, I got to show the best version of myself. So that’s what I’m here to do.”
With the next step being soaking in all that is available from the team’s mainstays, starting with the ever-present Haslem, who addressed the summer roster in Las Vegas.
“Well, he’s a big defensive guy,” Ware said. “So everything he talks to me about is always about defense. Just picking that up and learning from him.”
He’s also envisioning the possibility of playing alongside Adebayo, in a big lineup under coach Erik Spoelstra, who remains with Team USA while serving as an Olympic assistant under Steve Kerr.
“Me and Bam can definitely play beside each other because we complement each other so well,” said Ware, who showed a 3-point touch both with the Hoosiers and during summer league. “His position is really the four, and so me coming in as the five man, I can protect the paint and just being able to do what I always do.”
Ware already has one thing in common with Adebayo —the respect for the impact of his mother on his career, which he mentioned while mingling with the youth at Jr. Heat Camp.
“Just growing up, she was always there for me,” the soft-spoken 20 year old said. “She is really the reason why I’m here now. She drove me to every game, every practice. Even if we had a tournament that was eight hours away, she was driving all the way there.
“She was definitely somebody that I looked up to because she thrived through everything and the drive that she had.”
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