Memphis Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells exited the court Tuesday on a stretcher after a flagrant foul caused him to land hard on his back during a dunk attempt.
The play occurred on a breakaway in the second quarter of a road game against the Charlotte Hornets. Wells got the ball ahead of every Hornets defender and had an easy dunk in front of him, but KJ Simpson, another rookie, crashed into his legs and left him landing horizontally.
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Simpson immediately moved to check if Wells was OK, but he remained motionless on the floor.
The Spectrum Center crowd was left silent as trainers attended to Wells. Simpson was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul, meaning the officials judged him to have committed “unnecessary and excessive contact” against Wells, and was automatically ejected from the game.
Wells received applause from the crowd as he was wheeled off the court with his head and neck stabilized. He slowly raised a hand as he entered the tunnel, hopefully showing his control of his extremities remains intact.
Wells’ father Fred provided an update during the second half of the game, saying his son was “awake and alert,” with a swollen wrist and face, jaw and back pain. He will reportedly undergo X-rays and a CT scan. ESPN’s Shams Charania later reported the wrist was broken.
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Wells entered Tuesday as one of the promising rookies in the NBA’s 2024-25 class, and perhaps its best story. After a college career split between Sonoma State and Washington State, he was selected 39th overall in the 2024 NBA Draft and proceeded to carve out a rotation spot for a playoff contender.
He’s made most of his impact as a defender, which has stood out enough that some observers have even presented him as a Rookie of the Year candidate. Finding a player like him in the second round of the draft was an enormous win for Memphis in a year that has had some strife, and now they can only hope he isn’t injured in a way that will impact him beyond this season.
