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Kel'el Ware Joins Heat Legends In Huge NBA Achievement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jay Postrado | Last updated May 21, 2025 7:25 AM ET

The Miami Heat have always prided themselves on creating a culture that raises players from the ground up. So, it comes as no surprise that Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra have done wonders in uplifting the skills of their players immediately after getting selected in the NBA Draft. Kel'el Ware was the latest testament to this.

Kel'el Ware has been named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. The Heat rookie shared this honor alongside Chicago Bulls' Matas Buzelis, New Orleans Pelicans' Yves Missi, Washington Wizards' Bub Carrington, and Portland Trail Blazers' Donovan Clingan.

He garnered 138 points in the voting process, which were 13 short of possibly beating out Alex Sarr for the last spot in the NBA All-Rookie First-Team.

Despite this, Ware still made history. He became the eighth player in franchise history to be given this honor, per Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. The Heat rookie joins greats like Justice Winslow, Mario Chalmers, Glen Rice, Tyler Herro, Kevin Edwards, Willie Burton, and Udonis Haslem in this pantheon.

He is also set up for a great trajectory in his career. Herro, the last player from the Heat system who ended up in the NBA All-Rookie Second-Team, recently just became an NBA All-Star and will be the cornerstone of Pat Riley's rebuild.

There are still so many things in store for Ware in his years with the Heat. His chemistry alongside Bam Adebayo will still grow, and Coach Erik Spoelstra will surely help him develop his veteran acumen in the coming years. There's no use in moping over the lack of those 13 votes.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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