Mama Bears: On Jaylen Wells’ journey to NBA, his mother has cheered him on
“He doesn’t care about the glitz and glam of all of this stuff,” Laketia Wells (right) said about her son Jaylen Wells (left as a baby and center). “He just lives.” (Courtesy Laketia Wells)
Candace Echols
Candace Echols is a Midtown resident, wife, and mother of five. A regular contributor to The Daily Memphian, she is a freelance writer who also recently published her first book, the children’s book “Josephine and the Quarantine.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Men are what their mothers made them.” The Memphis Grizzlies mother/son stories The Daily Memphian is running this week are as varied as the players themselves, but woven together they prove the truth behind Emerson’s observation. The road to the NBA is not for the faint of heart, and nobody knows that better than a mother.
While she appreciated the opportunity to be a stay-at-home-mom, Jaylen Wells’ mom Laketia Wells, a delightfully energetic woman, was bored. Her older son DeAndre Wells was already in school, so Laketia Wells was on the lookout for things to do with young Jaylen Wells.
During her own childhood, Laketia Wells’ mom (whom Jaylen Wells calls Nana) insisted her kids play sports, and soccer was Laketia Wells’ sport of choice. She was tall for her age, so somewhere along the way someone suggested she give basketball a try.
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