The Miami Heat secured their 37th win of the season on Tuesday night with a 150–129 victory over the Washington Wizards. While it was an important win for Miami, the biggest story of the game was Bam Adebayo’s performance. Now, just a day after that historic outing, a two-year-old comment from his teammate Kel’el Ware has suddenly resurfaced and is once again making waves among fans.
Kel’el Ware’s Comment From 2024 Is Making Waves Over the Internet
Back in 2024, Ware appeared in an interview where he was asked to name his NBA Mount Rushmore. Ware placed Wilt Chamberlain first, followed by Kobe Bryant. For the third spot, he initially mentioned Michael Jordan, but later changed his answer to Anthony Edwards.
Up to that point, Ware’s picks sounded fairly conventional. But his final choice quickly raised eyebrows. Asked about his NBA Mount Rushmore, Ware said: “OK, I’m going to put Wilt… Got to put Kobe… I would say MJ… but I heard that some of the stats was false… so we’re taking MJ off the Mount Rushmore for you… I’m going to put Ant in there… And for my fourth… I’m going to say Bam.”
The last name — Bam Adebayo — surprised many fans at the time. When the interview surfaced following the 2023–24 season, Adebayo had averaged 19.3 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. Strong All-Star numbers, certainly, but not necessarily the kind typically associated with an all-time “Mount Rushmore” conversation.
But after Adebayo’s huge night on Tuesday, that old comment has started spreading again across social media. Fans are now wondering what exactly Ware saw in Adebayo two years ago.
An account re-shared that podcast clip, correcting their own comments, and wrote:
“Kel’el Ware was on to something dawg.”
Adebayo’s 83-point performance now stands as the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. The only player ahead of him remains Chamberlain with his legendary 100-point game. Adebayo’s night also pushed him past Bryant’s famous 81-point outing from 2006.
The Heat star had to work for every bucket. He finished the game making 20 of his 43 shots from the field and also connected on seven three-pointers. A large portion of his scoring came from the free-throw line, where he went 36-for-43. Both the made free throws and the attempts set new NBA single-game records.
The scoring started early, as Adebayo scored 31 points in the first quarter alone. It was one of the highest-scoring opening quarters by a player in recent years.
For comparison, Karl-Anthony Towns once scored 32 points in a quarter for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2022. The overall NBA record for points in a quarter still belongs to Klay Thompson, who scored 37 in a single quarter in 2015.
Adebayo also rewrote part of the Heat record book during that run. The previous franchise record for most points in a first quarter was 25, set by LeBron James in 2014.
By halftime, he had already piled up 43 points. Over the past 30 years, only a handful of players have scored that many points in a single half. Towns once reached 44 in a half, while the record for first-half scoring remains 53 points.
That mark is shared by David Thompson and George Gervin, who both reached it on the same day in 1978. As the season moves forward, it will be interesting to see what Adebayo does next.
