"I have no idea how I became a right-handed basketball player": LeBron James claims that he is left-handed after dominating the NBA for 20 years
LA Lakers star LeBron James has been a dominant force for two decades now, and a recent interesting fact just came out about him. Despite primarily using his right hand on the basketball court, he is left-handed.
Earlier this week, LeBron James was seen signing an autogrpah for a young Lakers fan. This did not seem out of the ordinary at first, until a closer look where he was seen signing the page with his left hand.
brb i have something in both eyes 🥹 https://t.co/BXeeAy15tQ
After the clip went viral, it emerged that the NBA's all-time leading scorer is in fact left-handed. This is not completely out of the ordinary as pro athletes across all sports use their non-dominant hands for different things. In the end, it's all about what feels the most comfortable.
When talking about not using his left hand dominantly, LeBron touched on when he first started playing basketball. He thinks he used his right hand to shoot because he thought it looked cool and that's what the players he watched did.
“I have no idea how I became a right-handed basketball player. I think maybe it was because of Michael Jordan, Penny Hardaway… Seeing those guys shoot righty, [I thought], ‘I guess I’ll shoot righty.’ I’m pretty much a left-handed guy.”
Fun fact: LeBron is ambidextrous!
LeBron: “I have no idea how I became a right-handed basketball player. I think maybe it was because of Michael Jordan, Penny Hardaway… Seeing those guys shoot righty, [I thought], ‘I guess I’ll shoot righty.’ I’m pretty much a left-handed guy.” twitter.com/clairempls/sta…
LeBron James has regrets about using his right hand to play growing up
While LeBron James might have liked being a right-handed player back then, he has some regrets about the decision. In hindsight, he wishes he would have used his left hand when he was first learning the game. However, he did admit that he practices with both hands.
“I just thought I guess it looked cool — until I got older and I wish I was a lefty, because those shots look a lot better… I don’t take many of those [left-handed] shots, but I’m capable of making those shots. I work on my craft. I work on both hands.”
LeBron James: “I just thought I guess it looked cool — until I got older and I wish I was a lefty, because those shots look a lot better… I don’t take many of those [left-handed] shots, but I’m capable of making those shots. I work on my craft. I work on both hands.”
Throughout NBA history, there have been countless famous left-handed players. Two of the more recent names that stick out are James Harden and former San Antonio Spurs star Manu Ginobili.
The LA Lakers star has always tried to improve his craft in any way possible. Before a game earlier this year, one fan caught him getting shots up with his left hand.
LeBron James is left handed https://t.co/XNLzKoJTyK
Seeing that he's never broken it out before, it's fair to assume LeBron James will never try a left-handed jumper in a game situation. That said, it's an interesting skill to have in his back pocket in a time of need.