Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
Top accolades: Four NBA titles, two All-NBA 3rd Team selections, two All-Stars, one-time Sixth Man of the Year, one Olympic gold medal, one World Cup silver medal, four FIBA Americas medals, one Olympic tournament MVP, one FIBA Americas MVP, one Euroleague title, one Euroleague Finals MVP
Average stats: 13.3 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.3 spg, 44.7 FG%
NBA rank: 64th in steals, 123rd in assists, 185th in points
For millennials, the first quintessential lefty NBA star was Manu Ginobili, one of the most impactful players in the Association throughout the 2000s. The Argentinian legend played with awe-inspiring flair, often attempting passes and layups that few others would dare try. He would even come up big on the defensive end in huge situations even when defense wasn’t really his calling card:
The clutch Ginobili also had a legendary international career, leading Argentina to Olympic gold in 2004. To this day, Argentina is the only country that can say it won Olympic gold with an American squad in the field that had professional players on it.
There’s no question Ginobili could have put up bigger numbers on a different team but that he stuck it out with the San Antonio Spurs no matter the role speaks to what he cared about most: winning. The electrifying Ginobili rightfully belongs in this spot of the ranking as one of the 10 best left-handed NBA players of all time.
