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Memphis Grizzlies standout rookie Jaylen Wells was stretchered off the floor after taking a scary fall on a dunk attempt late in the first half of Tuesday night’s win over the Hornets.
Wells caught a pass ahead of the defense and went up for the finish, which he converted, but as he grabbed the rim he was undercut by KJ Simpson. His legs taken out, Wells swung back, lost grip on the rim and came crashing down to the floor and landed straight on the front of his head at full force.
Be advised, this is not easy to watch.
Wells, who has been one of the gem finds of the 2024 Draft at No. 39 overall and has been in the Rookie of the Year conversation all season, was tended to for a long period on the floor before being taken off on a stretcher.
After the game, Wells’ agent told ESPN that Wells is “awake, alert and moving his extremities” after the fall. However, Wells did suffer a broken right wrist.
For his part, Simpson was assessed a flagrant 2 foul, which comes with an automatic ejection. In Simpson’s defense, this clearly wasn’t intentional. You can see him going up for a chase-down block only to realize at the last second that he wasn’t in range to make the play. He tried to peel off, but that was actually the problem. By veering away from Wells and effectively trying to run past him, he ran straight into Wells’ legs.
Let’s just all hope that Wells is OK and that the fall wasn’t as bad as it looked. We will continue to update this story as more information on Wells’ condition becomes available.
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