Rudy Gay joined the Memphis Grizzlies in 2006 and helped transform the team into true playoff contenders.
They were never able to win a title, but Gay believes they could have against a very specific and challenging team.
Appearing on the Out The Mud podcast, Gay said that his squad could have taken down LeBron James and the Miami Heat in 2013.
The problem was that Gay was traded in the middle of that season and was never given the chance to defeat James and the Heat.
“With all due respect to that team, they won a championship… but I don’t think they could’ve beat us that year… That was our year,” Gay said.
Rudy Gay says the Grizzlies would’ve beaten the Heat in 2013 if he wasn’t traded
“With all due respect to that team, they won a championship… but I don’t think they could’ve beat us that year… That was our year.”
(🎥 @OutTheMudTL / @NBAMyke )
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The Grizzlies were very grateful for Gay, and they loved all that he contributed to the team.
But in early 2013, they traded him to the Toronto Raptors so they could get some financial freedom.
When he left, he was the best-scoring player in Memphis and averaged 17.2 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in his 42 games with Memphis in 2012-13.
Gay said that he liked competing against James because he loved to see what he was capable of and wanted to prove that he could battle against the best of the best.
He saw James and the Heat as a challenge, one that he felt capable and strong against.
Gay will always ponder what could have happened if he had stayed with the Grizzlies.
He believes they would have stormed through the rest of the West, meeting Miami in the Finals.
Instead, he was off to the Raptors, but he wasn’t there long and moved to the Sacramento Kings in 2013-14, before a stint with the San Antonio Spurs, and his final two seasons with the Utah Jazz.
Gay loves the time he spent in the NBA, but he regrets not being able to participate in this hypothetical Finals matchup that would have made fans very happy.
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