With the Miami Heat entering the All-Star break with some form of momentum after the 123-111 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night, a player who has been impressing recently is second-year center Kel'el Ware. As the Heat have been displaying the duo of Ware and Bam Adebayo more together on the court, it has led to head coach Erik Spoelstra praising Ware with his recent play in what has been a tumultuous season, to say the least.
In the win over the Pelicans, Ware would get another start where he recorded 16 points on seven of 15 shooting from the field, two of three from beyond the arc, to go along with 12 rebounds, two blocks, and log a +18 on the floor. What has been analyzed deeply is the minutes Ware receives from Spoelstra, especially since the comments that came from the head coach were made after Jan. 15's loss to the Boston Celtics.
After Ware logged nine minutes in that game, Spoelstra would seem to imply that some young players “sometimes subconsciously play poorly to say, ‘Hey, I’ll play poorly until you play me the minutes I think I deserve. Then I’ll play well.’” Spoelstra referenced that as “the infamous post-game quote” when praising Ware after his great outing on Wednesday.
“I also appreciate Kel’el’s process over the last 3 weeks or month, since whenever that game was — the infamous postgame quote,” Ware said, via video by HeatCulture on X, formerly Twitter. “But his process really improved, and you’re going to go through stretches where it’s up and down, but he came in every day since then — just trying to work on getting better.”
Erik Spoelstra with PRAISE for Kel’el Ware tonight:
“I also appreciate Kel’el’s process over the last 3 weeks or month, since whenever that game was — the infamous postgame quote. But his process really improved and you’re going to go through stretches where it’s up and down but… https://t.co/Gb866ftMMV pic.twitter.com/um07hTr798
— 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 (@WadexFlash) February 12, 2026
Heat's Kel'el Ware on the comments from Erik Spoelstra
While the Heat head coach in Spoelstra admitted he didn't articulate that infamous quote in a good way, it could have led to fuel for Ware to play better. Ware would say via SiriusXM Radio that while he and Spoelstra never spoke about that quote directly, “it was more of a miscommunication.”
“But yeah, I never went on the court and tried to play bad,” Ware said. “That would just make myself look bad. I would say it was more trying to get used to playing in a different role….. Just try to go out there and impact the game the best way that I can on the defensive end and try to leave the game with a plus.”
At any rate, Ware will represent Miami in the Rising Stars event during the All-Star break.
