Former WSU basketball star and Memphis Grizzlies guard Jaylen Wells was carted off the court on a stretcher Tuesday after taking a hard and dangerous fall on a fast-break dunk against the Charlotte Hornets.
Wells was discharged from the hospital Tuesday night and was diagnosed with a broken right wrist that will sideline him for an extended period. Wrist injuries typically take six to eight weeks to recover from, according to The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal, sidelining Wells for the remainder of the regular season and likely most of the playoffs.
After a made free throw by Hornets forward Miles Bridges late in the second quarter, the Grizzlies pushed the pace and Wells received a near full-court lob pass from Grizzlies guard Ja Morant. Wells quickly rose and flushed the dunk but was undercut on the way down by Charlotte’s KJ Simpson whose momentum carried him into the landing zone of Wells. The Memphis rookie fell hard to the ground off the aggressive dunk, landing awkwardly on the floor.
The crowd and players from both teams at Spectrum Center were silent as Wells received medical attention and was helped off the court. Wells’ head was immobilized when he was on the stretcher but was “awake, alert and moving his extremities” after leaving the floor according to ESPN senior insider Shams Charania.
The Grizzlies would hold off the Hornets and go on to win 124–100. Memphis interim head coach Tuomas Iisalo said the team’s thoughts are with Wells and getting the victory despite the emotional toll it puts things into perspective.
After checking on Wells, Simpson buried his hands in his arms in clear dismay after the injury. Simpson was later charged with a flagrant foul two and was automatically ejected from the game.
Simpson later apologized on X for the incident.
“My prayers are with [Jaylen Wells],” Simpson said. “I know we already spoke and are good friends, but again I just wanted to express not only to [Wells] but to his family as well how deeply sorry I am. I would never purposely do that to anyone. I’m just extremely sorry.”
Wells later commented his thanks on Simpson’s post and posted a picture on his Instagram story from his hospital stretcher with the caption, “Go Grizz.”
The former face of Cougar basketball is averaging 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists in his first NBA season after being drafted No. 39 overall in the second round of the 2024 draft by Memphis. Wells is already having one of the best seasons ever by a former Coug in the NBA and is on track to be the second-best career scorer to come out of WSU. His 10.4 points per game average already sits second all-time for pro Coug career averages behind Mavericks guard Klay Thompson (19.15).
Wells currently has the fifth-best odds to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award according to BetMGM’s sports book. Wells is also a lock to make an NBA All-Rookie team with his performance this season.
