Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells issues strong statement on epic bounce-back performance

A player many believed to be a must-watch contributor heading into the 2024 NBA Summer League, Jaylen Wells found himself getting off to a slow start with his debut outing as a member of the Memphis Grizzlies.

During Monday's matchup against the Utah Jazz, it seemed as if Wells had a case of the jitters, as he looked quite passive on offense, sluggish on defense, and his highly buzzed-about jumper looked extremely clunky as he played his way to just 2 points on 1-of-9 shooting from the floor and 0-of-4 shooting from deep.

Fortunately for him, however, the wing managed to have himself a tremendous bounce-back showing during the following night's exhibition against the Philadelphia 76ers, playing a complete opposite brand of ball where he was commanding the rock, fighting on the boards and saw his long-range shooting convert at an efficient 42.9 percent clip.

Capped off with his exciting buzzer-beating floater that helped the Grizzlies claim an 87-85 victory, Wells' efforts and success rate were night-and-day compared to his previous showing against Utah and, when speaking with Grind City Media's Michael Wallace, the 20-year-old revealed why he believes he had such an impressive rebound performance.

Grizzlies rookie Jaylen Wells talks influence behind bounce-back game

"My teammates, they kept feeding me they kept saying 'keep shooting,' coaches kept saying 'keep shooting' so, I mean, shout out to them. They just kept my confidence up and kept believing in me."

- Jaylen Wells

Despite wrapping up with an impressive night two stat line, things did not start off all that hot for the likes of Wells, as he kicked off the contest shooting 0-of-4 from the floor and 0-of-1 from distance. It wasn't until the early stages of the second quarter that the rookie finally saw "that first shot go in," a happening that he noted helped turn his night around.

Even with his initial struggles during the first period, Wells would find himself wrapping up his second outing by leading all scorers on the night with 27 points while also registering 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and a steal along the way.

Hopefully this is a sign of what's to come moving forward during this year's Summer League and perhaps even heading into the regular season as a full-time member of the Grizzlies