Jaylen Wells suffers frightening injury scare vs. Hornets

Memphis Grizzlies rookie forward Jaylen Wells left Tuesday night’s game against the Charlotte Hornets on a stretcher after taking a scary fall following a dunk attempt.

The play occurred with 1:10 remaining in the second quarter. Wells went up for a dunk and was hit from behind by a trailing KJ Simpson. Simpson was issued a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.

Wells remained on the ground for several minutes after his fall before medical staff secured his head and neck, and gave him oxygen. Because he was taken to the hospital via ambulance, the game was delayed for more than 20 minutes while another one showed up to the Spectrum Center in Charlotte. Both teams were allowed to warm up before the game resumed.

The Grizzlies led 62-44 at the time of the injury. Wells left the game with three points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Wells, the 39th overall pick out of Washington State in the second round of last year’s NBA Draft, is having a strong rookie season, averaging 10.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in 26 minutes. He had started 73 of the 78 games he’s appeared in, establishing himself as one of the league’s premiere young defensive players. If it weren’t for Stephon Castle’s monster rookie season with the San Antonio Spurs, Wells would be a legit candidate for NBA Rookie of the Year.

Wells entered the league with a reputation as a three-point shooter, knocking down 42% of his attempts with the Cougars. He came to Washington State from Division II Sonoma State, where he was one of the best offensive players in the country at that level. He led his conference in scoring at 22.1 points per game and rebounding with 8.7, en route to being named a Division II All-American.

The team has not provided an update on his condition as of this writing.