Former Grizzlies players Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and Tony Allen listen as Marc Gasol speaks during his jersey retirement ceremony at FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn., on Saturday, April 6, 2024. Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK

Grizzlies Legend Makes Heartfelt Admission On 2011 NBA Playoff Run

Originally posted on Memphis Grizzlies on SI
By Liam Willerup | Last updated Sep 4, 2025 4:13 PM ET

The Memphis Grizzlies aren't the flashiest franchise in the NBA, playing in a small market and not having a ton of postseason success to boast, with just one Western Conference Finals appearance in their history. However, back in the early 2010s, they were one of the most underrated teams in the league, competing against the likes of Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Kobe Bryant.

The core of the Grizzlies during that era was comprised of Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, and Tony Allen, as they were referred to as the Grint 'N Grind era. As mentioned, they made a Western Conference Finals appearance with this core in 2013, but they might've had a better shot at an NBA Finals appearance during the 2011 postseason.

Tony Allen gets vocal about Rudy Gay getting injured before the 2011 Playoffs and ultimately getting traded before the 2013 Playoffs.

“…and I truly believed that had you not got hurt bro, we woulda won a championship bro.”

// @OutTheMudTL pic.twitter.com/j6pisJKO8v
— myke (@NBAMyke) September 4, 2025

Making an appearance on the Out The Mud podcast, featuring co-hosts Tony Allen and Zach Randolph, ex-Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay shared all sorts of stuff about his career and upbringing, but Allen couldn't hold back expressing his thoughts on a major what-if.

"And I truly believed that had you not got hurt bro, we woulda won a championship bro,” Allen said to Gay.

What Happened To Rudy Gay?

During the 2010-11 season, the Grizzlies had an ideal combination of players to make a serious playoff push. Randolph was the team's leading scorer and best player, averaging 20.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game en route to an All-NBA Third Team selection.

On top of the rest of the core in Conley, Gasol, and Allen contributing, they also had a solid bench, meaning they had the depth to compete. However, Gay was the cherry on top, a high-level wing scorer who could score at the rim or from beyond the arc. In terms of scoring plus efficiency, the 2010-11 season was one of Gay's best of his career.

Rudy Gay is the only player in @NBA history (out of 189) to never win a playoff series despite playing 15+ seasons. pic.twitter.com/Wu8ZXM4CDY
— Crazy Stats (@NBAcrazystats) August 7, 2025

However, Gay got hurt during a February 2011 contest against the Philadelphia 76ers, right before the All-Star break. Unfortunately, that ended up being the last game of the season for him, as Memphis finished the year as the eighth seed in the West. Despite that, they upset the Spurs in the first round and took the Oklahoma City Thunder to seven games.

Therefore, had Gay been healthy and able to provide the Grizzlies with three-level scoring during the postseason, the Grizzlies truly could've made a deep playoff run. They would've had to defeat the Dallas Mavericks, though, who ended up winning the NBA Finals that season. But the loss of a 20-point-per-game scorer in Gay might've made the overall difference.

This article first appeared on Memphis Grizzlies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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