The Milwaukee Bucks are eager to see exactly what they have in Kel’el Ware.
Outside of Tyler Herro, Ware was arguably the centerpiece of the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade among the current players Milwaukee received. He has the potential to develop into a two-way center who can make an impact on both ends of the court.
Ware was the 15th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and is entering his third season. His first two years offered plenty of glimpses of a player who could eventually become a full-time NBA starter—more on that later.
At 7-foot and 230 pounds, he’s big enough to battle with most centers in the paint. However, he’s also nimble enough to defend forwards on the perimeter. That combination of size and mobility is one of the most intriguing parts of his long-term development.
Milwaukee should also be encouraged by what Ware has shown offensively.
He expanded his game beyond the arc last season after making just 31.5 percent of his threes on 1.7 attempts per game as a rookie. In Year 2, he increased both his volume and efficiency, attempting three threes per game and knocking down 39.5 percent of them.
As Ware prepares for his debut season in Milwaukee, let’s set one realistic and one ambitious goal for the promising young big man.
Realistic goal: Average a double-double
After averaging 9.3 points and 7.4 rebounds per game as a rookie, Ware took a solid step forward last season, increasing those numbers to 11.1 points and 9 rebounds.
Milwaukee hopes there’s another jump coming, one that pushes him comfortably into double-digit points and rebounds per game.
That should be well within his reach.
Ware nearly averaged a double-double last season despite playing only 22.2 minutes per game. With Myles Turner and Ware expected to handle the bulk of the center minutes, Ware should have a clear path to increasing his playing time. Milwaukee could even experiment with the two big men sharing the court in certain matchups.
The biggest obstacle will be consistency.
Ware recorded 24 double-doubles last season, showing he’s already capable of piling up numbers. On the other hand, he also had 17 games with five or fewer rebounds and nine games with five or fewer points.
Eliminating some of those quiet nights would go a long way toward helping Ware reach this benchmark.
Averaging a double-double wouldn’t just represent another statistical step forward. It would show Milwaukee that Ware is ready for a larger role—which leads directly into his ambitious goal.
Ambitious goal: Earn the starting center job by the end of the season
Ware will enter training camp as the clear No. 2 center behind Myles Turner.
Turner is entering the second season of a four-year contract and has done enough throughout his career to deserve the starting job heading into the year.
However, Ware should be right on his heels from the start.
Turner struggled during his first season in Milwaukee, and the frontcourt pairing the Bucks envisioned between him and Antetokounmpo never materialized the way they hoped.
That opens the door, at least slightly, for Ware.
He has already started roughly half of the games during his young career and will look to work his way back into that role in Milwaukee. To do so, he’ll need to prove last season’s improved jumper was legitimate while also showing he can handle increased responsibilities on both ends of the court.
That will be especially important defensively.
Milwaukee needs its starting center to protect the paint while also possessing enough mobility to survive in Taylor Jenkins’ defensive schemes. If Ware can provide comparable defensive impact to Turner while continuing to develop offensively, the Bucks may eventually have a difficult decision to make.
And given where Milwaukee is in its post-Giannis timeline, a close competition would probably favor the younger player.
Ware doesn’t need to take Turner’s job immediately. If he develops quickly enough that Milwaukee views him as its starting center of the future by the end of the season, his first year with the Bucks will have been a major success.
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