The 2012-13 Miami Heat looked invincible to almost everyone. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh led their team to 66 wins and a historic 27-game winning streak that dominated the league. But one player isn’t buying the hype.
In fact, a former Memphis Grizzlies star looked Wade in the eye today and told him Memphis would have wrecked the Heat’s championship party if they met in the Finals.
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Why Does Rudy Gay Think Memphis Could Beat Miami?
The debate heated up on Prime’s NBA coverage when Rudy Gay flatly claimed his 2013 Grizzlies were the superior squad. Even with Wade sitting right there, Gay insisted Memphis had the edge over the “Big Three” era juggernaut.
“With that team we had and I’m gonna take that into this, with all due respect to that team, they won a championship, but I don’t think they could have beat us that year, the year I got traded,” Gay said.
“That was the year, that was our year.”
Dwyane Wade confronts Rudy Gay for saying the 2013 Grizzlies would beat the 2013 Heat 👀
Rudy: We had the right match up
Wade: LeBron, Wade, Bosh. Stop it right there pic.twitter.com/Lwu3S6zn9L
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) December 27, 2025
Gay didn’t back down after the clip played. He told the crew, “I’m standing on it. Let’s run it back.”
Wade wasn’t having it. He pointed to Miami’s 27-game winning streak, the second-longest in NBA history at the time, and suggested the Grizzlies were feeling a little too good about a regular-season win.
“I knew he was lying when he said all due respect,” Wade said. “So were on a 27-game winning streak back then and you guys beat us and I think there’s where your overconfidence comes from.”
Gay tried to argue that “the game is about matchups and I think we had a good matchup,” but Wade shut it down with a simple roll call.
“LeBron, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade. Stop it right there,” Wade replied.
What Made the 2013 Grizzlies a Threat?
Wade was still one of the best players in the league back then, playing alongside the planet’s top star, James, and the ultimate third option, Bosh. But Memphis had a real squad, too.
The Grizzlies won 56 games and secured the West’s fifth seed with a gritty lineup. They featured Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and Mike Conley Jr., plus defensive nightmares like Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince. Their bench ran deep, getting solid minutes from Jerryd Bayless, Quincy Pondexter, and Darrell Arthur.
They proved they could fight in the playoffs. After dropping the first two games against the Clippers, they stormed back to win in six. Then they upset the Thunder in five games. However, they eventually hit a wall in the conference finals, getting swept by the Spurs, the same team Miami beat for the title.
Gay’s argument hangs on those defensive stoppers like Allen and Prince, frustrating the Heat. But while the Grizzlies had grit, Miami had three Hall of Famers who usually overwhelmed even the toughest defenses.