Kel’el Ware, who spent one season with Indiana men’s basketball, is in the midst of his first season in the NBA with the Miami Heat.
After missing 10 of the Heat’s first 25 games of the season, the 7-foot Ware played in all 16 of the Heat’s matchups in January and earned Kia NBA Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, according to the Heat’s X post Tuesday.
Ware started five of the 16 games, averaging 13 points and 6.9 rebounds during the month as the Heat went 7-9. He shot 56.5% from the field and 44.7% from beyond the arc in 24.7 minutes per contest.
In Ware’s lone season in Bloomington, he averaged 15.9 points and 9.9 rebounds as the Hoosiers missed on out an NCAA Tournament berth.
The North Little Rock, Arkansas, native is currently the odds-on favorite to earn NBA Rookie of the Year honors, according to Fox Sports. However, Ware was left off the NBA Rising Stars roster for All-Star Weekend, which is slated for Feb. 14-16 in San Francisco.
Ware became the first Hoosier to win Rookie of the Month since Yogi Ferrell, who played at Indiana from 2012-16, won the award in February 2017.
While Ware won the honor in the Eastern Conference, San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle earned the Western Conference award. Castle, who has the second-best odds to win Rookie of the Year, averaged 15 points, 3.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds across the month as the Spurs went 4-8.
Dalton James covers Indiana women's basketball and football for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him at @DaltonMJames on X and contact him via email at jamesdm@iu.edu.
