Memphis Grizzlies starting guard Jaylen Wells shared an update on his injuries after taking a hard fall during Tuesday’s 124-100 victory against the Charlotte Hornets.
The incident took place in the second quarter after Wells caught an outlet pass from Ja Morant and was driving towards the basket; as he jumped for a breakaway dunk, Hornets guard KJ Simpson ran under him, forcing Wells to flip and hit the floor hard on his arm and head after the midair collision. Wells remained down for eight minutes before being lifted by medical personnel onto a stretcher with his head immobilized, and taken to the hospital. Interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said at the time that Wells had movement in all of his extremities; ESPN’s Shams Charania later reported that the rookie broke his right wrist.
The game was delayed 23 minutes, with officials calling a flagrant foul 2 on Simpson for unnecessary contact upon a replay review (which comes with an automatic ejection). Simpson immediately bent down to check on Wells after the play and was visibly distraught while Wells was being tended to in the silent arena. Morant also said after the game: “It’s tough. I threw the pass and turned around and was doing our little touchdown celebration. When I got there, the first thing I saw was blood, and I’ve got a weak stomach. We’ve just got to stay with him and keep praying for him. It’s next man up. Obviously that hurts. Guys will just have to be ready.”
Wells’ father Fred provided an update saying his son was “awake and alert,” with a swollen wrist and face, jaw and back pain, and was undergoing X-rays and a CT scan. Wells later provided an update of his own, posting a photo to his Instagram story with a simple message: “Go Grizz.”
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