HEAT Culture Bleeds Through Summer League
The Miami HEAT has kept busy this past month, participating in the 2024 NBA Summer League and its multiple tournaments.
Kel’el Ware
Bouncing from the California Classic to the NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas, a host of fresh-faced hoops pros received their first crack at NBA-level competition and exited as champions of the NBA 2K25 portion of the Summer League with a thrilling 120-118 overtime finish against the Memphis Grizzlies. With a Summer League title now in tow, let’s dive into some additional headlines for the HEAT hopefuls.
Kel’el Ware
With the 15th pick in the NBA Draft, the HEAT selected center Kel’el Ware out of Indiana. Ware, a 7-footer with a 7’5” wingspan, averaged 15.9 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.87 blocks and 1.5 assists per game in his second collegiate season for the Hoosiers and hopes to provide Miami some much-needed size at the next level. Size isn’t all Ware brings to the table, as the big man shot 42.5 percent from beyond the arc as a sophomore.
“Kel’el is a three-and-D center,” said Miami HEAT Vice President, Basketball Operations/Assistant General Manager Adam Simon. “It is not easy to find 7-footers who can play out on the perimeter offensively and also be able to defend with his ability to shot block and defend the post. For us, that was very appealing.”
Just weeks after getting drafted, Ware made his Summer League debut at the California Classic, and averaged 18.3 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.88 blocks per game on 58.4 percent shooting through eight games between the two tournaments. Ware broke out in his second showing, putting together a 26-point, 11-rebound performance where the talented 20-year-old mixed in hard dives to the basket, lob dunks, and a few feathery-soft jumpers from the low post. In total, Ware exceeded 15 or more points in six different games and pulled down double-digit rebounds in five matchups. For his efforts, Ware was selected to the NBA 2K25 Summer League First Team.
“He did a phenomenal job creating actions rolling to the rim, sealing,” said HEAT Summer League Head Coach Dan Bisaccio following Ware’s breakout game against Sacramento. “He did a great job with his touch around the rim. And then again, rebounding. Offensive rebounding, obviously, but also just eating up the glass on the defensive end any chance he can.”
Though just 20 years old, Ware’s physical gifts and uncommon shooting touch have immediately stuck out, and the rookie has a real shot to make an impact with the HEAT from Day 1, providing the team with a combination of length, athleticism, and skill that is difficult to replicate.
Keshad Johnson
The HEAT has historically done a good job of unearthing talented wing players that were undrafted or drafted late in the second round. Players like Haywood Highsmith, Duncan Robinson, and Josh Richardson are past examples of HEAT success stories and Keshad Johnson hopes to replicate their paths to the league.
“I’m a HEAT culture guy,” said Johnson after his breakout 21-point performance against the Los Angeles Lakers. “Throughout my career, I just want to keep making an emphasis that I’m willing to do everything, that I’m gritty. I just want that to be my identity. I just want to make an example of how much of a HEAT culture guy that I am.”
Johnson, a 6’6” forward who played the first four years of his college career at San Diego State before transferring to Arizona for his fifth year, inked a two-way contract with the Miami HEAT after going undrafted. Keshad quickly impressed the coaching staff and eager Summer League attendees with his rugged, above-the-rim play and defensive activity. Johnson stuffed the entire stat sheet during his 21-point showing vs LA, also snagging eight rebounds, dishing three assists, and wreaking havoc defensively with six “stocks” (3 steals + 3 blocks). Overall, he’s averaged 11.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.50 steals throughout Summer League, while also shooting 38.9 percent from three.
“K.J. from the beginning has been a consummate professional,” said coach Bisaccio. “From the moment he got here, he’s just been an absolute workhorse behind the scenes. I mean, as soon as he gets in the gym, he’s high motor, high energy. He’s very much just a hard worker, wants to come in and do whatever is asked.”
Johnson, who has an impressive 6’10” wingspan and an explosive 42-inch vertical leap, has the sorts of tools needed in today’s NBA to be a disruptive, versatile defender. And he’s already sounding like a seasoned HEAT vet, willing to showcase his talents as best he can to help the team by playing multiple front court positions and defending just about everyone on the opposing team.
“I just try to do whatever it takes to win,” Johnson said. “I don’t like going outside the box. But I feel like I’m raw, I feel like I got a raw talent. I feel like there’s still a lot of stuff that’s unscratched. So you’ll see glimpses of me just doing stuff from instinct. That’s just what the game provided [against Los Angeles]. Just doing things that I know I’m capable of and everything that I haven’t really showcased throughout my whole college career. Just with the time of getting NBA development, I just keep getting better as a player overall.”
Jaime Jaquez Jr.
The HEAT’s sensational rookie is now entering Year 2 of his ascendant NBA career ready to show even more improvement. Jaquez Jr., who was selected to the NBA All-Rookie First Team, hasn’t been resting on his laurels this summer, spending time practicing with Team USA’s Olympic Team as a member of their Select Team while also participating in Summer League.
“Excited to get him implemented into the team and see what he can do with our guys,” coach Bisaccio said upon Jaquez Jr. finishing his Team USA duty and joining the team in Las Vegas. “He’s been working extremely hard behind the scenes, so we’re just excited to see how that looks.”
Despite having a rookie season filled with accolades—chief among them being named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month twice and finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting—Jaquez Jr. felt that he could benefit from additional reps in Summer League and work on different aspects of his game.
“I mean, it’s the HEAT culture, man,” Jaquez, Jr. said of his decision to play. “We want to see what I can do, try to get better, build on my game, help these guys coming in with the knowledge that I have from my one year. Try to work on my leadership skills, just a lot of things. Just working on my game.”
In two appearances for the HEAT’s Summer League team, Jaquez Jr. wowed as a lead option, putting up a gaudy 26.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists on 58.1 percent shooting and 42.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc, mixing in hard north-south drives with deft finishes and a developing pull-up, jump shooting game. With two dominant showings, Jaquez Jr. was named to the NBA 2K25 Summer League Second Team.
“Extremely productive,” said head coach Dan Bisaccio “First things first, we appreciate his willingness and openness to compete and play in summer league. You win All-Rookie Team, a lot of these guys may not want to do it, and they may just want to do player development and just get ready for the season. But there’s no greater player development than five-on-five. For him to get even just two games, it speaks volumes to his character and his leadership.”
Pelle Larsson
The HEAT had the fortune of holding two draft picks this offseason, and they used their second-rounder to draft G Pelle Larsson out of Arizona. A former college teammate of Keshad Johnson, Larsson is a 6’6” swingman who demonstrated elite shooting ability (51.9 percent from the field, 42.6 percent from three as a senior) as well as the strength and athleticism to defend at the NBA level, a coveted set of skills for wings to possess in today’s NBA.
“Pelle is a player we’ve been watching for years,” said Simon. “I think what he shows us is a well-rounded, versatile player with a 38-inch vertical, big hands, and has a little bit of an edge to him. We thought he would fit in here with his versatility, obviously, his ability to shoot and defensive mindset. So for us, obviously, we had him as the top player on our board when we went to pick.”
Larsson has indeed been a bit of a jack-of-all-trades for the HEAT’s Summer League team, setting up teammates like Kel’el Ware for lob dunks as a secondary creator, spacing the floor, and flashing his own athleticism filling the lanes on the break. Larsson scored in double figures in each of his last four games and became the hero of Summer League by scoring 16 points in the championship game and sinking the game-winning basket in overtime against Memphis.
“Coach drew up a great play that we’ve run in practice a bunch of times,” Larsson humbly noted after the win. “They did a good job of guarding it and then I just made it.”
Being able to defend, space, pass, and explode at the rim gives Larsson enough prerequisites to demonstrate his reputation as an NBA-ready prospect was well-founded, and he’s earned rave reviews from the coaching staff for his attention to detail as much as his shot-making.
“He’s a tireless worker,” noted coach Bisaccio. “He’s a great leader on the floor, he’s just got a really good disposition, and he’s a man of a craft, is the word I’m looking for. Behind the scenes, he’s always trying to work on his shot. He’s always trying to find that new angle that he can give you, that extra detail on a pick-and-roll. So for him, I think a lot of that, he’s a perfectionist, where he’s trying to make some plays for others, and he’s trying to get some shots, and all this.”
Other News, Notes, and Stories
The Miami HEAT went 8-1 in Summer League play, going 2-1 in the California Classic and a perfect 6-0 in the NBA2K25 portion of Summer League on their way to the championship.
The best individual quarter of Summer League probably belongs to guard Josh Christopher, originally a 2021 first-round selection of the Houston Rockets who has since made his way to Miami’s program, earning a two-way contract. Christopher exploded for an astounding 20 points in the fourth quarter of the HEAT’s 102-73 victory against the Oklahoma City Thunder, sinking five three pointers and throwing down a pair of devastating dunks. In total, Christopher averaged 19.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.00 steals and 1.8 assists while shooting 54.1 percent from the field, 52.5 percent from three and a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line throughout the Las Vegas portion of Summer League. Christopher scored a team-leading 24 points in the championship game against the Grizzlies and was named the NBA 2K25 Summer League Finals MVP for his efforts.
The HEAT’s most consistent table setter throughout Summer League was point guard Isaiah Stevens. Stevens, a five-year starter at Colorado State University, averaged 6.9 assists and only 2.4 turnovers in Summer League play. Additionally, he’s shot a stellar 63.4 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from three.
Guard Alondes Williams, a talented scorer who spent time with the HEAT’s G-League affiliate last season on a two-way contract, threw down arguably the dunk of the summer when he cocked back and exploded to the rim in the fourth quarter of Miami’s 92-79 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. You may want to rewind this one a few times just to get a glimpse of the team’s reaction from the bench.
HEAT Summer League head coach Dan Bisaccio will continue to hold lead coaching duties well after the summer as the team announced that he will be the new head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Kasib Powell, a one-time HEAT forward and Skyforce head coach from 2021 through 2024, will join the HEAT’s staff as Player Development Coach. Congratulations to both coach Bisaccio and coach Powell.