There is less than one week left in the 2024-25 NBA regular season. That means we’re mere weeks away from awards getting announced.
It’s been a long season for the Miami Heat. Though one of the most encouraging developments–figuratively and literally–has been the emergence of first-round rookie Kel’el Ware.
For the season, Ware is averaging 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on 55.6 percent shooting and 60.8 percent true shooting. In early March, we pondered whether or not the 7-foot big had a chance to win Rookie of the Year.
San Antonio’s Stephon Castle has (rightfully) all but locked up that award. Jaylen Wells and Zaccharie Risacher, last summer’s No. 1 overall pick, aren’t far behind. But Castle’s built a sizable-enough gap between the pack at this stage of the season.
Despite the roller coaster rookie season he’s endured, Ware has made a late-season surge to earn first-team All-Rookie honors for a class that’s outperformed expectations.
Does he have a legitimate case? Let’s examine!
Examining Kel’el Ware’s All-Rookie Team Case:
While he has played just 60 games with four games left this week, the 65-game minimum does not apply to All-Rookie teams–nor does it for Sixth Man of the Year and Rookie of the Year.
The field is also positionless, so voters are more inclined to vote for the five-best rookies, instead of the best rookies at each position.
Ware would be looking to become the second Heat rookie to make All-Rookie first team. Jaime Jaquez, who finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting last year, earned first-team All-Rookie–headlined by Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren and San Antonio’s Chet Holmgren, two of the best young bigs in the entire NBA.
Here’s where he ranks among all rookies (min. 500 MIN):
- Points: 13th
- Rebounds: 4th
- Blocks: 6th
- Field Goal Percentage (min. 150 FGA): 5th
- True-Shooting Percentage: 5th
- Win Shares: 2nd
- Win Shares Per 40 Minutes: 3rd
- Box Plus-Minus: 4th
- Rebound Percentage: 3rd
- Defensive Rebounding Percentage: 1st
- Player Efficiency Rating: 2nd
Ware’s oftentimes struggled against more physical bigs and has struggled to operate offensively when he’s not a rim-running threat, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t been legitimately impactful. He has, and the aforementioned numbers suggest as such.
Since the turn of the calendar, he’s averaging 10.8 points and 8.8 rebounds. Behind Castle and Risacher, who’s been spectacular for Atlanta over the last few months, you could argue Ware’s placement for being a top-3 rookie–along with Alex Sarr, Wells, Isaiah Collier and Matas Buzelis, among others.
I think the recent scope plus the full season sample is enough to justify Ware being a top-5 rookie, but the conversation is certainly worth having. There are plenty of worthy rookies. Ware has grown plenty as the season’s gone on and taken steps in the right direction, but the question still remains whether or not he can consistently improve his game year-after-year.
Do you think he’s worthy of making first-team All-Rookie? Let us know in the comments!
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As of April 7, 2025, the top rookies in the 2024-2025 NBA season, based on the Kia Rookie Ladder, include Stephon Castle, Jaylen Wells, Alex Sarr, Zaccharie Risacher, and Kel’el Ware.
No way Ware isn’t named to either the first or second all-rookie team.