The early signs from the NBA's Summer League suggest Miami Heat's Kel'el Ware could be the best big man to come out of the 2024 NBA Draft class.
The Miami Heat may have done it again. Over the last few seasons, the Heat have found hidden gem after hidden gem with late draft picks or undrafted players. With the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, the Heat not only may have found a hidden gem with Kel'el Ware, but they may have stumbled upon the best big in the entire class. And that's saying much considering there were four players selected ahead of Ware that would be categorized as "bigs."
At least, that's what the early returns of the NBA Summer League are suggesting. It's certainly a small sample size and there's an entirely different argument discussing what can and can't be taken from the NBA Summer League, but there has to be at least some meaningful takeaways.
Kel'el Ware's Summer League dominance
It's not even just that Ware has been dominant. There's an argument to be made that Ware has been the best player in the NBA Summer League. In helping lead the Miami Heat to the NBA Summer League championship in Las Vegas, Ware averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game on 62 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent shooting from 3-point range in six games played.
In two games played in the California Class Summer League, Ware averaged 19 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks per game on 52 percent shooting from the field.
In what could be considered a pretty solid sample size, of eight total games, Ware proved his worth on both ends of the floor. Is he a complete polished product? Absolutely not. However, there are certainly great signs of promise for the 7-footer.
Especially compared to the other highly-touted bigs from this year's NBA Draft class, it's hard not to be impressed with Ware.
Alex Sarr's struggles in the NBA Summer League
The No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr had a historically bad showing in his NBA Summer League, averaging 5.5 points on 19 percent shooting from the field and 11 percent shooting from 3-point range. He also had the worst PER (player efficiency rating) of any first-round pick in this year's Summer League. In fairness, he did average eight rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, but his offensive game was nightmarish this summer.
Zach Edey, who was also taken in the top 10 of the 2024 NBA Draft, had a much better showing than Sarr in his Summer League but was shut down after suffering an ankle injury after two games. In his debut, Edey finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks.
In three games played, Tidjane Salaun averaged nine points and seven rebounds on 42 percent shooting from the field. Even though he didn't pop all that much during his Summer League showing, Salaun is considered an extremely raw prospect.
Finally, Donovan Clingan had an equally solid showing in the NBA Summer League, averaging nine points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks per game on 36 percent shooting from the field.
From the top five bigs that were selected in this year's NBA Draft class, Ware pops off the page and screen in terms of players who showed promise on both ends of the floor. Who knows if he will end up being the best big from this class, but the early signs prove that there's at least a shot that is the case.