Miami Heat Rookie Kel’el Ware Closes Big March with Poster Dunk

Miami Heat rookie Kel’el Ware is making it increasingly difficult for those thinking of leaving him off the NBA’s First Team All-Rookie squad.

Although Memphis’ Zach Edey was the preseason favorite for Rookie of the Year and No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr was more hyped and earned Rookie of the Month honors for December in the Eastern Conference, Ware’s impact over the past few months has been undeniable. The 20-year old Indiana product averaged 10.2 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in March, so he’ll be in the mix for East top rookie honors.

This is important because while Ware has already one top honors in a month for his exploits in January, no East rookie has won the award multiple times. Philadelphia guard Jared McCain won for November, Sarr won for December, Ware won the first accolades awarded for 2025 and Atlanta Hawks wing Zaccharie Risacher won for February.

Ware punctuated his case to earn the honor over Sarr by throwing down a vicious dunk on the French teenager’s head on Monday late in the 120-94 rout that you can see here. 

Heat play-by-play announcer Eric Reid punctuated the dunk by exclaiming Ware “hammers it down on Sarr,” and it did make for a fantastic poster.

Although the Heat suffered through a 10-game losing streak this past month, it closed out March with five consecutive wins and actually ended up catching Washington at 6-11. That’s important since Sarr is again in the Rookie of the Month mix, having recorded a career-high 34 points in a March 15 upset of the Nuggets, becoming the youngest player in Wizards history with a 30-point game. Sarr averaged 16.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in March.

The third option to earn Rookie of the Month is Risacher, who has averaged 16.3 points and shot 39.3 percent from 3-point range to help his team climb to the top of the Southeast Division with a 9-5 run.

San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle is the heavy betting favorite to win Rookie of the Year. In addition to Edey, Risacher, Sarr and Ware, other options to earn coveted First Team All-Rookie honors include Memphis Grizzlies guard Jaylen Wells, Utah Jazz guard Isaiah Collier and Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis. Collier broke John Stockton’s team rookie record for assists on Monday.

Last season’s All-Rookie First Team honorees were Spurs star Victor Wembanyama, Grizzlies forward Chet Holmgren, Charlotte wing Brandon Miller, Warriors guard Brandin Podziemski and the Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Tony Mejia is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at tnyce1414@gmail.com