Rudy Gay was one of the best scorers of the 2010s. Over 17 years in the NBA, he spent time with the Memphis Grizzlies , Sacramento Kings , San Antonio Spurs and the Utah Jazz .
The shortest period of time he spent with the Toronto Raptors during his prime. What was weird about his time in Canada was that he didn't spend a full season with the franchise.
In the 2012-13 season, Gay was traded from the Grizzlies to the Raptors. In the next season, after playing only 18 games, he was shipped to the Kings. During that stretch, Rudy was averaging 19.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
At 26 years old, Gay was at his best and wanted to be the main guy on the team. During an away game, one of his teammates, Terrence Ross , witnessed his scoring mentality firsthand, which was the beginning of the end.
During the 2013-14 season, the Raptors had two great scorers on their roster. Gay and DeMar DeRozan . Both of them had similar playing styles, primarily focusing on mid-range scoring and attacking the basket athletically. As T-Ross remembers, during an away game in Houston , the ball wasn't leaving their hands. They took every chance they had to boost the scoring sheet.
" He was just not ball-hogging, but like ball-hogging. Where he took every shot, bro. Between him and DeMar, I think they took like 60 shots. And we lost in double overtime," said Ross.
In that game, Gay alone took 37 shots and made 11 of them. He ended up scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, but that wasn't enough to secure the win. Even though the Raptors lost, what stuck with Ross was the locker-room situation.
Frustration on Rudy's part was very obvious, and bringing up papers with the box score was the last straw for him.
"I'll never forget. Because after every game we sitting in after the coach has this thing and walks out and we have, like, some people that hand us out like the stat sheets and the box score. Dog, Rudy took all them papers and threw it away," addressed Ross.
Besides shooting below 30 percent, Gay had also fouled out at the end of the game. The dissatisfaction was pretty obvious, but not with the loss as much as with him not scoring more.
When Gay saw that DeRozan had a similar number of shots, his reaction was purely negative. Terrence mentioned that was the moment that hinted Rudy would probably get traded.
" He took every box score, just threw them in the trash. And I was like, 'Yeah, it's not going to go well, bro.' I think after that, it was like, we all knew. A trade was coming," said Ross.
Unfortunately for Gay, his time with the Raptors wasn't the best. Despite averaging solid numbers, he played only 51 games with them during two halves of the season. It just wasn't the best fit.
Luckily, Rudy found his place in Sacramento, where he spent four seasons as one of the main guys. Even though his situation in Toronto was unfortunate, fans will remember Gay as one of the most underrated shot-makers of the 21st century.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Sep 7, 2026, where it first appeared in the Old School section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
