The Memphis Grizzlies are pushing hard toward a guaranteed playoff spot, but their path just got rockier. While Memphis cruised to a 124-100 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night, the victory came at a significant cost as standout rookie Jaylen Wells suffered a serious wrist injury.
The win moved the Grizzlies up to the seventh seed in the Western Conference, and are currently tied with the Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets, and Golden State Warriors. With three games left, Memphis (47-32) remains firmly in contention for a top-six finish, avoiding the play-in tournament altogether.
However, the night was overshadowed by the injury to Wells, who took a terrifying fall while attempting a dunk and being fouled by Charlotte’s KJ Simpson. The 6-foot-8 forward landed awkwardly on his wrist and had to be stretchered off the floor.
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, Wells suffered a broken wrist and will be sidelined indefinitely. Though he was discharged from the hospital later that night, the injury will keep him out for the remainder of the regular season, and his availability for the playoffs remains uncertain.
Ja Morant expressed his support for the rookie via social media, posting a photo of the two on his Instagram stories along with emoji reactions—a show of solidarity for a teammate who’s been key to Memphis’ campaign.
Selected 39th overall in last year’s draft, Wells quickly carved out a vital role in the rotation. He’s appeared in all 79 games this season, averaging 10.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists in nearly 26 minutes per game, and is widely considered a strong All-Rookie candidate.
His absence will be a tough pill to swallow for a Grizzlies team that’s already dealt with its share of injuries and distractions this season. With a playoff spot on the line and the margin for error shrinking, Memphis will now have to dig even deeper to close out the regular season strong—and possibly face the postseason without one of its most consistent contributors.
‘Does he want a lifetime ban?’ – NBA fans spot Ja Morant’s controversial gesture towards crowd in Grizzlies-Hornets
JA Morant can’t stop doing controversial celebrations.
After firing off gun gestures in two different games, Morant has taken it even further.
Morant has already gotten into trouble for his celebration antics this season.
He first pulled out the celebration during a game against the Golden State Warriors.
In the game, the Memphis Grizzlies star pointed finger guns towards the Warriors’ bench.
The opposing team was visibly baffled by this and expressed their concerns to the referee.
Morant was issued a technical foul for the offense.
However, that didn’t stop him from pulling out the celebration again against the Miami Heat.
He once again pulled out the finger guns, this time after scoring a basket, and pointed towards the opposition.
This time, the NBA took notice and levied a penalty towards Morant.
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He was fined $75,000 for the offense.
However, Morant seemingly hasn’t learned his lesson and took things even further.
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During his most recent game against the Charlotte Hornets, Morant scored a bucket and mimicked throwing a grenade into the crowd.
This absolutely baffled fans and they shared their shock on social media.
“Does he want a lifetime ban?” one fan said.
“Bro loves getting fined,” another fan said.
“Just hoop man instead of bringing unwanted attention by displaying violent celebrations,” a third fan said.
New rights deal
The NBA signed an 11-year deal with three networks for the league’s rights from the 2025-26 season.
And there will be no games on TNT for the first time since the network launched in 1988.
The Walt Disney Company will continue to show the league with 80 regular-season games across ESPN and ABC.
They will also show around 18 playoff games from the first and second round, a Conference Finals series for 10 of the 11 years, and remain the home of the NBA Finals.
NBC will return as an NBA broadcaster for the first time since 2002.
The network will show up to 100 games per season across it’s channels and Peacock streaming service.
It will also be the home of NBA All-Star and show approximately 28 playoff games from the first and second round.
NBC will show one Conference Finals Series for six of the 11 years, rotating with new broadcaster Amazon Prime.
Amazon will show 66 NBA regular-season games including one on Black Friday.
The streaming service is also the home of the latter stages of the NBA Cup and the entire Play-In Tournament.
Prime will also broadcast around one third of the playoff games in the first and second round.
“What’s next a tank celebration,” a fourth fan said.
“Anything for attention I guess,” a fifth fan said.
Morant’s celebrations are even more baffling as he has been suspended in the past for gun-related issues.
During the 2023-24 season, Morant was sat down for 25 games for flashing a real firearm on a video.
It seems he has yet to learn his lesson from the punishments.
