The stage appeared set for March 25, 2024’s South Beach-based battle to be one of emotion, given the presence of the player who nearly raised two championship banners through Kaseya Center’s rafters in the opposite colors. With out-of-the-gym jumps and acrobatic displays one after another, Kel’el Ware left the Miami Heat assured that, in some form or another, plenty would still be worth looking forward to whenever their eyes gravitated skyward. Machine-like in his pick-and-pop execution, Ware thinks through a four-on-three advantage with veteran-like cool, escaping Jimmy Butler’s All-Defensive Team attention with a pass fake that creates his seemingly-wide-open path towards Miami’s paint. Nearly plucked from behind by Kevon Looney’s heads-up deflection, Ware — now in a mid-flight float, and in search of the basketball — smoothly retrieves it, whirling an over-the-head bucket off-glass to create a must-see highlight in Miami’s statement-sending 26-point win. Radiating under the nationally-televised bright lights, Ware, even after the Golden State Warriors’ near steals, confirmed Miami’s future to be in secure hands through an efficient 14-point, 10-rebound, one-block showcase. · Mar 25, 2025