The Miami Heat haven’t exactly had the most productive start to the new year. The team has been embroiled in drama with star forward Jimmy Butler for weeks now, and Butler has been oscillating in and out of the lineup in January due to suspensions.
Meanwhile, in the month of January, Miami has a record of just 5-8, and the team dropped to below .500 on the season after it got blown out by the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday.
But if there’s been anything positive to glean from Miami’s recent stretch of games, it’s that rookie big man Kel’el Ware has been majorly impactful. Some folks have started to draw comparisons between him and San Antonio Spurs sophomore phenom Victor Wembanyama.
We got Wemby at home pic.twitter.com/cbLdvqbzjB
— Exceed (@TBExceed) January 24, 2025
KEL’EL WARE IS BABY WEMBY
— Alex (Kel’el Ware fan account) (@0toHerr0) January 24, 2025
There was a moment early last year where Wemby's teammates realized that he has a virtually infinite catch radius and started throwing him the most insane lobs you could imagine just to see if he could catch them.
The Heat are living this with Kel'El Ware right now.
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) January 24, 2025
Baby Wemby is going off 🔥
— Alex (Kel’el Ware fan account) (@0toHerr0) January 24, 2025
The more i watch Kel'El Ware play the more i think he might be up there with the Wembys and Chets, new age alien, he reminds me of both Wemby and Giannis, hes gonna be a problem
— Straw Hat Theodore (@mk_caro2) January 24, 2025
Calling it now on Kel’el Ware potential
Ceiling: Wemby 2.0
Floor: Myles Turner https://t.co/wDvRT25Lp9— Jokic2Murray (@J15M27) January 24, 2025
While Ware and Wembanyama may have some eerie similarities, the 20-year-old neophyte has a lot left to prove if he wants to be recognized as a player of the Frenchman’s caliber. Wembanyama is averaging 24.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and a league-best 4.0 blocks per game so far in his second NBA season.
Still, Ware was probably Miami’s best player against the Bucks on Thursday. On top of leading the Heat in scoring with 22 points while shooting 9-of-15 from the field, he also finished with two blocked shots and 10 rebounds.
Thursday marked Ware’s third straight game with 20-plus points. He had 25 against Wembanyama’s Spurs on Sunday in a game where Ware arguably outplayed the Spurs star, then he had 20 against the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday while also grabbing 15 boards.
When widening the scope of Ware’s sample size to the entire month of January, his production has still been extremely impressive, particularly for a first-year player. So far this month, he’s averaging 13.6 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. In the span, he’s shooting 58.2 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from 3-point range.
It’s great that Ware has given fans of the Heat something to cheer about amid such a turbulent month for the organization, and folks won’t have to wait all that long before he takes the court again. On Saturday, the Heat will face off against the Brooklyn Nets in a road contest for Miami.
