Cuttino Mobley Names Top Five Greatest Lefties In NBA History

Cuttino Mobley gives his list of the five greatest left-handed players in NBA history.

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Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Cuttino Mobley was one of the best left-handed players in the NBA in the 2000s, and he gave his list of the five greatest lefties the league has ever seen on the All The Smoke podcast. Mobley went with a couple of big names, but did leave out arguably the biggest of them all.

“James Harden, Chris Mullin, Manu Ginobili, Nick Van Exel … and I mean, David Robinson, of course,” Mobley said.

The notable exclusion here, of course, is the great Bill Russell. Many don’t even realize that Russell was left-handed, though, and perhaps Mobley was unaware, too. Russell won a record 11 NBA titles and took home five MVP awards. He has gone down as one of the greatest players of all time. Despite Russell’s exclusion, this is still a solid list.

James Harden is the only active player in the top five. Harden has career averages of 24.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. He has won an MVP, three scoring titles, and two assists titles along the way. Harden has also made 11 All-Star and eight All-NBA teams. 

As for Chris Mullin, he spent 16 seasons in the NBA and averaged 18.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game. Mullin never won any major accolades but did make five All-Star and four All-NBA teams.

Manu Ginobili, meanwhile, is one of the greatest international players in NBA history and averaged 13.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in his career. Ginobili won four titles while making two All-Star and two All-NBA teams.

Nick Van Exel is perhaps the most surprising inclusion here, considering he was never really a big star in the NBA. Exel still had a fine NBA career, averaging 14.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.1 blocks per game over 13 seasons. He made the All-Star team once in 1998.

Lastly, we get to David Robinson, who was a no-brainer here. Robinson averaged 21.1 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.0 blocks per game in his career. He won two titles, one MVP, one DPOY, and one scoring title. Robinson also made 10 All-Star, 10 All-NBA, and eight All-Defensive teams.

As for some other notable players who would have a strong case to be in the top five, the likes of Chris Bosh, Willis Reed, Bob Lanier, Dave Cowens, Artis Gilmore, and Nate Archibald come to mind.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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