Former NBA participant Rudy Homosexual believes the Memphis Grizzlies would have prevented LeBron James and the Miami Warmth from profitable back-to-back titles in 2013 had Memphis by no means traded him.
Rudy Homosexual Says Grizzlies Would Have Defeated Warmth
Throughout an look on the “Out The Mud” podcast, Homosexual mentioned the Grizzlies would have crushed the Warmth within the 2013 NBA Finals if he hadn’t been traded halfway by means of the 2012-13 season.
“With all due respect to that workforce, they gained the championship, however I don’t suppose they may have beat us that yr,” Homosexual mentioned. “The yr I received traded. I believe that was the yr. That was our yr.”
Homosexual arrived in Memphis in 2006 following a draft day commerce between the Grizzlies and the Houston Rockets. The 6-foot-8 wing noticed the workforce go from a below-.500 squad within the Western Convention to a title contender in 2012.
The Grizzlies went 41-25 within the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season and secured the fourth seed within the West. The Los Angeles Clippers would knock them out within the first spherical of the playoffs in seven video games.
Memphis Might No Longer Afford Homosexual
In the course of the 2010 offseason, Memphis had supplied Homosexual a five-year, $82 million contract. Homosexual had turned down a 5 yr, $50 million provide the earlier season and have become a restricted free agent.
Though it appeared like the right deal on the time, the contract finally led to his commerce. The Grizzlies wanted to shed wage in 2013 to keep away from a luxurious tax hit, so Homosexual was the odd man out.
that grizzlies workforce made the WCF even after rudy homosexual was traded on the deadline… it’s not THAT loopy to suppose. they had been a troublesome matchup for miami. pic.twitter.com/6Tl9i4m4E8
— myke (@NBAMyke) September 5, 2025
Homosexual earned $16.5 million in 2012-13 and had $37 million extra over the subsequent two years of his deal. It was an excessive amount of for brand spanking new proprietor Robert Pera, who took over the franchise in October 2012.
Ultimately, Homosexual was traded to the Toronto Raptors as a part of a three-team take care of the Detroit Pistons.
Homosexual was averaging 17.2 factors, 5.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.7 blocks per sport for the season on the time of the commerce.
Rudy Homosexual Led Grizzlies In Scoring
Following the commerce, Memphis was led by Marc Gasol, the NBA Defensive Participant of the Yr, and Zach Randolph, who averaged 15.4 factors on 46% taking pictures from the sphere to go along with 11.2 rebounds per sport.
Not solely was Homosexual the Grizzlies’ main scorer on the time, however Memphis additionally ranked fourth within the West with a 29-15 file. With out the UConn product, Memphis went 27-11 the remainder of the way in which to complete the season 56-26.
The Grizzlies had been the fifth seed getting into the playoffs, they usually avenged their 2012 sequence loss by defeating the Clippers in six video games within the first spherical.
Memphis had by no means gained 4 consecutive postseason video games earlier than this sequence. The Grizzlies grew to become solely the tenth workforce in NBA historical past then to win 4 in a row after trailing 0-2 — the primary to win these 4 all by double digits.
The Grizzlies then eradicated Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder in 5 video games to arrange an attention-grabbing matchup with the San Antonio Spurs within the Western Convention finals.
Spurs Swept Grizzlies In Western Convention Finals
San Antonio had misplaced to the Grizzlies in six video games within the first spherical in 2011, but it surely managed to comb them in 2013. The Spurs then went on to lose to the Warmth in seven video games within the NBA Finals.
The Grizzlies additionally fired head coach Lionel Hollins on the finish of the season.
It’s troublesome to say for certain if Homosexual and the Grizzlies would have defeated Miami within the 2013 Finals. A number of groups did not defeat a LeBron James-led squad in a seven-game sequence throughout his prime years.
Memphis, nonetheless, shocked many when it dominated the Warmth within the first assembly between the 2 groups that season, a 104-86 rout on the FedExForum on Nov. 11, 2012.
Wayne Ellington led the Grizzlies in scoring with 25 factors off the bench in that regular-season matchup, whereas Homosexual had 21 factors, eight rebounds, and 5 assists in 37 minutes of motion.
Evidently, the playoffs are a complete completely different animal.
