Hard fouls happen. Bad fouls happen. But what happened on Tuesday night between the Grizzlies and Hornets was tough to watch. Jaylen Wells rose for a breakaway dunk in the first half when Hornets rookie KJ Simpson fouled him front behind, taking out his legs and causing Wells to crash to the ground.
Watch the play here, but warning that it’s a scary fall. Update: Wells has been released from the hospital, and has a broken wrist.
Jaylen Wells falls hard on his front of his head after the And-One dunk. The medical staff rush for his help and then evacuate him.
Upon referee review, the foul by KJ Simpson was upgraded to a flagrant penalty 2 and he was ejected from the game.
Some Hornets players were… pic.twitter.com/egfcqj1cQC— MrBuckBuck (@MrBuckBuckNBA) April 9, 2025
It was immediately clear that things were bad. Wells was clearly concussed, and the medical team were worried about a possible neck injury as he was stretchered from the arena and taken to a local hospital.
Players prayed, Simpson looked completely distraught as he obviously didn’t intentionally mean to hurt Wells, but either got caught up in the moment or was unable to stop as he ran at full speed. A rookie mistake, albeit the worst kind of error imaginable.
Thankfully Wells is largely okay. He did sustain a concussion and broken wrist on the play which will end his 2024-25 season — but there was no spinal injury or life-threatening injuries, as it was initially feared.
Overnight Simpson took to social media to apologize for the foul, and to send well wishes to Jaylen Wells.
My prayers are with @jaylen_wells , I know we already spoke and are good friends bro but again I just wanted to express not only to J but to his family as well how deeply sorry I am. I would never purposely do that to anyone. I’m just extremely sorry
— KJ Simpson (@KSimpsonJr) April 9, 2025
Especially with the talent J is. I know he’s gonna be special and just from the many times our paths have crossed I’m blessed to know he’s an even better person with an amazing story. I just wanted to again say sorry to J and his family I can’t say it enough
— KJ Simpson (@KSimpsonJr) April 9, 2025
I know Gods blessings won’t stop here and more blessings are in store for J. Sending love and continuously praying for a fast recovery brother
— KJ Simpson (@KSimpsonJr) April 9, 2025
Well accepted Simpson’s apology.
Much love brother Thank you
— Jaylen Wells (@jaylen_wells) April 9, 2025
You could clearly see Simpson was concerned from Wells’ safety. He had a poor play in the heat of the moment, but nothing about it was malicious.
Wells posted this photo of himself in the hospital still in his NBA jersey. The worst case scenario was thankfully avoided.
Hopefully Wells has a quick, complication-free recovery and we can see him back on the court soon.