Grizzlies' Jaylen Wells Hospitalized After Being Stretchered off Court with Injury
Memphis Grizzlies rookie forward Jaylen Wells provided a positive update on Instagram from the hospital after suffering injuries following a scary post-dunk fall during his team's 124-100 road win over the Charlotte Hornets.
Wells was stretchered off the court after suffering a hard fall following a second-quarter dunk.
Ashley Stroehlein of Sirius XM Sports Radio soon reported Wells was taken to a local hospital. Wells' agent Aman Dhesi relayed an update to ESPN's Shams Charania:
Fred Wells, Jaylen's father, provided an update on the player from the hospital:
Wells' legs were taken out from under him by Hornets guard KJ Simpson on a successful dunk attempt with 1:10 remaining in the first half. Wells got ahead of the defense, took a full-court pass from teammate Ja Morant and went up for the slam, which put the Grizzlies up 62-44.
However, Simpson was late defensively and knocked into Wells' right leg as he went up for the slam. Wells fell awkwardly and landed hard on the court on the right side of his body, with his head making contact with the floor. Simpson and then Morant and his Grizzlies teammates then quickly check on him before medical personnel rushed to assist the rookie.
Thankfully, Wells appeared to show movement as he was stretchered off the court, per Will Palaszczuk of Sports Radio WFNZ.
Simpson was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
Wells, who was in the conversation for the NBA's Rookie of the Year award earlier this season, entered Tuesday averaging 10.5 points, 3.4 assists and 1.7 rebounds per game.
He's started 73 of 78 contests for a Memphis team that entered the day in a four-way tie for fifth place in the Western Conference.
Simply put, he's been an exceptional addition to Memphis after being selected with a second-round pick (39th overall) in the 2024 NBA draft.
Most importantly, though, the hope is that Wells recovers to 100 percent health as soon as possible from the scary fall.
