Jaylen Wells has been one of the NBA’s top rookies this season. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
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.
