Is James Harden already the best left handed player ever? D. Rob, Russell & Ginobili also in the conversation.

[JJ_PR]

First of all, I had no idea D. Rob and Russell where left handed. Those two account for five of the seven MVP's left handed players have won. Robinson is the last lefty to win it 22 years ago.

A case could be made for all four of those guys. Russell has the 11 rings, while Ginobili has 5. Robinson only had 2, but he might be the most dominant player of the bunch.

Harden might be on his way to becoming the best lefty ever though. He already has three seasons of MvP production, and could finally get it this season.

I think the title of "best lefty in the history of the NBA" is between David Robinson and James Harden. Who you got?

Did you know that LeBron is actually left handed? He does shoot with his right but still.

[PierceFan4ever]

Harden is not even close to Bill Russell or David Robinson

[KHRICH]

Way to early to be compared to Russel or D. Rob

[Moose]

I have Beasley slightly ahead, especially with his play of late.

[mucciniale]

If I need to win a game in clutch, I’ll give the ball to Ginobili

[RCM88x]

Ask again in 5 years if Harden continues this pace and maybe we can laugh slightly less.

[LivingLegend]

I find it weird that Michael Redd is the first person that pops into my mind when people mention left handed players.

[Duke4life831]

Best left handed perimeter player? Sure I think you have a legit argument for that.

But when you're talking about all players you just so happened to have Bill Russell, good luck finding a top 10 all time list without him on it. You also have David Robinson who in my opinion is one of the most overlooked players from the 90s on this board. A MVP, a 10x all Star, 10x all NBA team and 8x all defense team. This dude was racking up these accomplishments while playing in an era that was the most stacked with all time great bigs that we have ever seen.

Harden still has some time to catch either one of those guys.

[dukes_wild]

He's behind Robinson, that's it.

[KHRICH]

He's behind Robinson, that's it.

uhh he isnt behind russell to you?!

[dukes_wild]

He's behind Robinson, that's it.

uhh he isnt behind russell to you?!

No. I don't really involve Russell into things like this. His level of competition was way lower so it's just too hard to gauge how good he really was. Plus he wasn't really a good offensive player. Nothing against him really. FWIW people estimate that if you converted his averages to today's NBA with the level of competition he would average like 10 points and 12 rebounds per game.

[Big Mac Biyombo]

He's behind Robinson, that's it.

uhh he isnt behind russell to you?!

He was such a poor athlete compared to today's players though...

Watch on YouTube

[dukes_wild]

He's behind Robinson, that's it.

uhh he isnt behind russell to you?!

He was such a poor athlete compared to today's players though...

Watch on YouTube

Pretty irrelevant to my point. Whether he'd dominate in today's NBA or not, it's too much of a hypothetical that I'd rather just avoid including him into rankings/comparisons like this. He has 11 rings I'm sure he's okay with me not including him

[CowboyBebop]

I find it weird that Michael Redd is the first person that pops into my mind when people mention left handed players.

Michael Redd is the first person I think of when I hear the words “Unorthodox shooting form”.

[Lalouie]

First of all, I had no idea D. Rob and Russell where left handed. Those two account for five of the seven MVP's left handed players have won. Robinson is the last lefty to win it 22 years ago.

A case could be made for all four of those guys. Russell has the 11 rings, while Ginobili has 5. Robinson only had 2, but he might be the most dominant player of the bunch.

Harden might be on his way to becoming the best lefty ever though. He already has three seasons of MvP production, and could finally get it this season.

I think the title of "best lefty in the history of the NBA" is between David Robinson and James Harden. Who you got?

Did you know that LeBron is actually left handed? He does shoot with his right but still.

"Russell also in the conversation "

Nice of you to think of him in Harden's class

[Big Mac Biyombo]

uhh he isnt behind russell to you?!

He was such a poor athlete compared to today's players though...

Watch on YouTube

Pretty irrelevant to my point. Whether he'd dominate in today's NBA or not, it's too much of a hypothetical that I'd rather just avoid including him into rankings/comparisons like this. He has 11 rings I'm sure he's okay with me not including him

It's not about whether or not he'd dominate today's NBA. It's about him being the best left handed player of all time. That's not up for debate. He dominated his era in ways no player has ever dominated their own respective eras. That may never be replicated. So choosing not to include him in your rankings (for whatever subjective reason you may have) is wrong. There is no argument to be made that Robinson or Harden was/is better than Russell.

As for the video I posted. It's just to show how athletically dominant he was. He'd be considered elite in that facet if he played today too. This narrative (not suggested by you) that the 1960's and 70's players were less athletic is not true when talking about the elite players. As far as your average player goes; that's absolutely true. But your top end athletes (Russell, Chamberlain, Baylor etc.) would still be elite athletes today.

[HeartBreakKid]

He's behind Robinson, that's it.

uhh he isnt behind russell to you?!

No. I don't really involve Russell into things like this. His level of competition was way lower so it's just too hard to gauge how good he really was. Plus he wasn't really a good offensive player. Nothing against him really. FWIW people estimate that if you converted his averages to today's NBA with the level of competition he would average like 10 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Estimation or just something people said with no evidence, lol?

Even if you adjust for pace he is still easily 15 RPG player...


You are kidding yourself if you think Bill Russell would average less rebounds than someone like Kevin Love on the T Wolves. He is at least the same size and is significantly more athletic and probably has the GOAT basketball IQ.

[Rob Diaz]

Bill Russell shot like 40% from the field in an era that was obviously less advanced and had far fewer Black players. There's absolutely nothing impressive about him when watching videos, he looks like any decent HS player.

I'm not even sure if he would make a Div-1 Women's team if he played today.

It's crazy to think how perception in sports is impacted heavily on when you were born. Somebody like Clint Capela is viewed as a largely unknown, quality starting C today, but he would be seen the same way as Bill Russell if he had been born 50 years earlier.

A guy like TJ McConnell would be revered the same way as Bob Cousy if time played out differently. Crazy.

[HeartBreakKid]

Bill Russell shot like 40% from the field in an era that was obviously less advanced and had far fewer Black players. There's absolutely nothing impressive about him when watching videos, he looks like any decent HS player.

I'm not even sure if he would make a Div-1 Women's team if he played today.

It's crazy to think how perception in sports is impacted heavily on when you were born. Somebody like Clint Capela is viewed as a largely unknown, quality starting C today, but he would be viewed the same way as Bill Russell if he had been born 50 years earlier.

A guy like TJ McConnell would be reversed the same way as Bob Cousy if time played out differently. Crazy.

Yeah, the 80s stepped it up a bit but someone like Rudy Gay would basically be Michael Jordan.

[ThaRegul8r]

uhh he isnt behind russell to you?!

No. I don't really involve Russell into things like this. His level of competition was way lower so it's just too hard to gauge how good he really was. Plus he wasn't really a good offensive player. Nothing against him really. FWIW people estimate that if you converted his averages to today's NBA with the level of competition he would average like 10 points and 12 rebounds per game.

Estimation or just something people said with no evidence, lol?

I've seen people refer to a singular WordPress post written four years ago that "adjusted" Russell's career averages to "modernized" averages of 12 points and 12 rebounds. (Wilt was also "adjusted" to a "modernized" 12 rebounds per game career average as well.) So either that lone blog post is being embellished to be multiple people, or the people who were all citing that post without crediting it are being credited with actually saying anything original (people just copy and paste/see and repeat on the internet without anyone ever knowing where it originated). And even the 12-point average was swapped out and replaced with 10, which any number of random internet posters have said with no kind of actual basis of coming up with the number.