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Former NBA player Rudy Gay believes the Memphis Grizzlies would have prevented LeBron James and the Miami Heat from winning back-to-back titles in 2013 had Memphis never traded him.
Rudy Gay Says Grizzlies Would Have Defeated Heat
During an appearance on the “Out The Mud” podcast, Gay said the Grizzlies would have beaten the Heat in the 2013 NBA Finals if he hadn’t been traded midway through the 2012-13 season.
“With all due respect to that team, they won the championship, but I don’t think they could have beat us that year,” Gay said. “The year I got traded. I think that was the year. That was our year.”
Gay arrived in Memphis in 2006 following a draft day trade between the Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets. The 6-foot-8 wing saw the team go from a below-.500 squad in the Western Conference to a title contender in 2012.
The Grizzlies went 41-25 in the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season and secured the fourth seed in the West. The Los Angeles Clippers would knock them out in the first round of the playoffs in seven games.
Memphis Could No Longer Afford Gay
During the 2010 offseason, Memphis had offered Gay a five-year, $82 million contract. Gay had turned down a five year, $50 million offer the previous season and became a restricted free agent.
Although it seemed like the perfect deal at the time, the contract eventually led to his trade. The Grizzlies needed to shed salary in 2013 to avoid a luxury tax hit, so Gay was the odd man out.
that grizzlies team made the WCF even after rudy gay was traded at the deadline… it’s not THAT crazy to think. they were a tough matchup for miami. pic.twitter.com/6Tl9i4m4E8
— myke (@NBAMyke) September 5, 2025
Gay earned $16.5 million in 2012-13 and had $37 million more over the next two years of his deal. It was too much for new owner Robert Pera, who took over the franchise in October 2012.
In the end, Gay was traded to the Toronto Raptors as part of a three-team deal with the Detroit Pistons.
Gay was averaging 17.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game for the season at the time of the trade.
Rudy Gay Led Grizzlies In Scoring
Following the trade, Memphis was led by Marc Gasol, the NBA Defensive Player of the Year, and Zach Randolph, who averaged 15.4 points on 46% shooting from the field to go with 11.2 rebounds per game.
Not only was Gay the Grizzlies’ leading scorer at the time, but Memphis also ranked fourth in the West with a 29-15 record. Without the UConn product, Memphis went 27-11 the rest of the way to finish the season 56-26.
The Grizzlies were the fifth seed entering the playoffs, and they avenged their 2012 series loss by defeating the Clippers in six games in the first round.
Memphis had never won four consecutive postseason games before this series. The Grizzlies became only the 10th team in NBA history then to win four in a row after trailing 0-2 — the first to win those four all by double digits.
The Grizzlies then eliminated Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games to set up an interesting matchup with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference finals.
Spurs Swept Grizzlies In Western Conference Finals
San Antonio had lost to the Grizzlies in six games in the first round in 2011, but it managed to sweep them in 2013. The Spurs then went on to lose to the Heat in seven games in the NBA Finals.
The Grizzlies also fired head coach Lionel Hollins at the end of the season.
It’s difficult to say for sure if Gay and the Grizzlies would have defeated Miami in the 2013 Finals. Several teams failed to defeat a LeBron James-led squad in a seven-game series during his prime years.
Memphis, however, surprised many when it dominated the Heat in the first meeting between the two teams that season, a 104-86 rout at the FedExForum on Nov. 11, 2012.
Wayne Ellington led the Grizzlies in scoring with 25 points off the bench in that regular-season matchup, while Gay had 21 points, eight rebounds, and five assists in 37 minutes of action.
Needless to say, the playoffs are a whole different animal.
