On Day One of the NBA Summer League California Classic, the Golden State Warriors will welcome the Miami Heat to the Chase Center on July 6.
As the first day of all NBA Summer League action, the game will serve as the initial impression of headlining rookies Kel’el Ware, Pelle Larsson, and Caleb Daniels, all of whom will be with Miami. Golden State’s lone draft selection in 2024, Quinten Post, will not be participating as he nurses a nagging leg injury.
Miami Heat vs. Golden State Warriors Game Details
Fixture: Miami Heat @ Golden State Warriors
Date and Time: July 6 at 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT
League: NBA Summer League California Classic
Location: Chase Center
Network: ESPN
Team Review
Golden State Warriors
The Golden State Warriors do not have a prized rookie on their summer league roster but will still feature several prominent names to keep an eye on. Both of their standout rookies from the 2023 season — Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis — are listed on the roster but not expected to see an extended run. Both have already proven their talent in the NBA, particularly Podziemski, who started in 28 games.
Golden State also lists six-year veteran Kevin Knox II as a member of their summer league roster, whom they signed in late June. Knox, a former no. 9 overall pick, spent the first four years of his career in New York but has since bounced around the league, most recently being a member of the Detroit Pistons.
Miami Heat
While many Miami Heat fans have been displeased by the team’s middling offseason, Dan Bisaccio’s summer league roster will have multiple key rookies making their professional unofficial debut. Highlighting the marquee group will be no. 15 overall pick Kel’el Ware, Miami’s new 7’0″ center from Indiana.
Aside from Ware, the team will also look for key contributions from no. 44 overall pick Pelle Larsson and undrafted rookie Caleb Daniels, both of whom had stellar collegiate careers. Cole Swider and Josh Christopher will be the most experienced players of the group with Swider having spent the 2023-2024 season as a two-way player of Miami and the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Possible Breakout Players of the Game
Reece Beekman, Golden State Warriors
Beekman went undrafted in the 2024 NBA Draft but in his final season at Virginia, he averaged 14.3 points per game to go with 6.2 assists per outing. As a 22-year-old guard with four years of NCAA experience, Beekman is more mature than the average prospect while finishing as one of the top players in the ACC during his senior season. In his final two seasons as a Cavalier, Beekman was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2022-2023 and 2023-2024.
Historically, players from Virginia have not done well in the NBA in recent years, but Beekman has given reason for optimism with improvement in his offensive production each season in college. Though he was undrafted, Beekman has already signed a two-way deal with Golden State, proving the confidence the front office has in him as a talent.
Kel’el Ware, Miami Heat
As the highest rookie selected in the 2024 NBA Draft playing in the game, Ware will have all eyes on him on July 6. In his lone season in Bloomington, Ware posted averages of 15.9 points per game, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks. At 7’0″, Ware has all the tools general managers want to see in a modern big man, owning elite size and physicality with above-average athleticism and shooting.
Miami is already set in the frontcourt with Bam Adebayo and Nikola Jovic but the team clearly believes in Ware enough to spend high draft capital on him. Behind Adebayo and Jovic, Ware’s production in the summer league could lead to him overtaking 35-year-old Kevin Love as the backup center or even supplanting Jovic in the starting lineup.
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