Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra has been on Kel’el Ware’s case since the summer as he sees the 7’3 center as future star if only he can unleash his talent. Ware finds himself in the best place right now as it’s not just the coach who pours everything to him, even the veterans.
The Heat are a veteran-ladened team and these guys are hard at working in helping the 2024 15th overall pick. One of them is Norman Powell who has an unusual way of motivating the kid. His go-to piece of advice is taken from the video game NBA2k.
Kel’el Ware vs Knicks
16 Points
14 Rebounds (6 OREB)
3 Blocks
78 FG%DAWG and EFFORT pic.twitter.com/EJJct10l5U
— Heat Clips 🎬 (@MiamiClip) November 18, 2025
“I’ve been on him, coach has been on him,” Powell told reporters after their win over the New York Knicks.
“But I always tell him, there’s a meter, think of it as like 2k back in the day, takeover meter in the game. And I told him the bottom is G-League, and top is generational, and I want him to be in that generational every single game, because that’s the talent that he has.”
The takeover meter is about how video game controllers can takeover the team and boost the strengths of their selected players.
Norman Powell spoke about Kel’el Ware’s performance, saying that despite the up-and-downs, he believes he’s been “great.”
Would say he’s told Ware a metaphor like the old 2K takeover meter and that he could reach generational, saying he has that talent. #HeatNation pic.twitter.com/t0vpW889Ls
— Zachary Weinberger (@ZachWeinberger) November 18, 2025
Kel’el Ware over the last four games:
15.0 PPG
14.3 RPG
2.0 BPG
1.0 APG
1.0 SPG
65.8% FG
60.0% 3P
87.5% FT
31.8 MPG https://t.co/KiI5Dv8klo pic.twitter.com/eSpq4MSZte— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) November 18, 2025
Kel’el Ware stats and impact are improving
One critic Spoelstra has of Ware was his empty stats. He urged his young center to be more impactful on the game instead of listing down numbers.
That’s not the case anymore. The Heat are 4-2 in their last six games and Ware has been filling up the stat sheet.
He put up double double in their last four games, with his best game coming from their win over the Cleveland Cavaliers where he had 14 points and 20 rebounds. In their latest win against the New York Knicks, he had 16 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocks.
Spoelstra now speaks highly of Ware’s performances.
“Kel’el [Ware] was very impactful in those last several minutes, and that’s certainly growth,” he said.
“The block, that was called goaltend, great effort on his part. The rebounding was very intentional. And the multiple efforts, I loved that drive he had with four minutes to go. It’s kind of a loose ball and caught on the baseline. It could have been one of those flip shots, but he wanted to make sure that this thing was going to the rim, and got the and-one.”
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