World’s Most Ambidextrous Athletes

Some of history’s greatest professional athletes have practiced a variety of mirror movement development (MMD). They are often considered ambidextrous for their unique handedness, footedness, sidedness, or stance variations. This includes a spectrum of mixed-handedness, mixed-footedness, mixed-sidedness and switching stances (such as in board sports), all the way to intentional focus on developing both sides equally. Many of these superstars include natural lefties. This leads to additional cross-dominant activity considering their less-dominant hand is often used for tools, instruments, and commercial products designed exclusively for the right hand. Such long-term bilateral physical development sends greater-than-average blood flow to both brain hemispheres and aligns the body, producing incredible results for the human body that any average person can choose to practice. These athletes are often known for superior capabilities, spatial awareness, and longevity.

Here are the most notable professional athletes who practice variations of MMD, in order of sport: Basketball, Soccer, Baseball, Tennis, Football, Golf, Ice Hockey, Boxing & Martial Arts, Skateboarding, BMX, Billiards, Handball, Volleyball, and Juggling…

BASKETBALL

All-time NBA leading scorer, Lebron James does everything left-handed… except basketball (just like Larry Bird). Due to this unusual development of both sides of the body, whenever Lebron has to make a left-handed dribble, pass, or shot, he often does so without difficulty. For this reason, he makes top lists of Ambidextrous Athletes. At the young age of just eight years-old, Lebron was able to “flip plays;” the skill of mirroring your teams’ play within the mind. He admits that even most NBA players can’t do this. Such talent may be explained by the increased spatial awareness produced by his practice of MMD. He’s also one of the few to have played longest in the NBA, at 21 seasons so far. Lebron has even said that, after turning 40, he’ll score 5,000 more points… all left-handed!

NBA legend Kobe Bryant was right-hand dominant, but would often dribble, layup, dunk, and shoot 3-pointers left-handed. He played more lefty after rehabilitating an injured right hand. On a bet, Kobe once even sunk two half-court shots lefty. Like Lebron, Kobe was also one of the longest to play in the NBA, at 20 seasons.

Larry Bird is famously known for being highly ambidextrous. Just like Lebron James, Bird is a natural left-hander who plays basketball right-handed. He even played an entire game left-handed in 1986 against the Portland Trail Blazers, saying he was saving his right hand for a more important game the next night.

Considered the greatest NBA player ever, Michael Jordan has been widely regarded as exclusively right-handed. An in-depth look though shows that Jordan actually worked at developing his left hand in later years, which increased overall abilities throughout his career. Even his iconic Air Jordan logo is a left-handed dunk.

By the time he retired at 42, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored more points, blocked more shots, won more MVP’s, played in more All-Star Games, and lasted more seasons than anyone else. Kareem was known to shoot skyhooks with either hand from anywhere on the court.

Four-time NBA champion, S tephen Curry, is right-hand dominant, but works to develop his left side by practicing dribbles and free-throws switch. His trainer, Brandon Payne, says this MMD practice, “works on core and vertical stability. We dribble high and hard to work on our base and balance.”

NBA third-best scorer of all time Luka Dončić is righty in everything, but often lefty in basketball. He’s spent years practicing developing both hands in dribbling, passing, behind-the-back work, and is described as ambidextrous on the court. Luka has even been compared to the ambidextrous Larry Bird.

Kyrie Irving has earned a reputation as one of the best ballhandlers in NBA history. A natural lefty, he was forced to develop his right hand in Catholic school. Today, he can write with both hands, saying “both sides of my brain are unlocked.”

Vince Carter has played longer than any other NBA player (22 seasons) and is considered ambidextrous for his ability to shoot 3-pointers both left- and right-handed. In high school, Carter broke his right wrist, forcing him to develop his left side. He can also spin both clockwise or counter-clockwise when making plays.

SOCCER

Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored more goals than any other soccer player in history, is right-foot dominant, but has worked hard to develop his left foot. He is considered the best ambipedal player in the world today.

Lionel Messi is considered by many as the best player in soccer today (along with Cristiano Ronaldo). Messi is right-handed, but plays soccer left-footed (something that only 3% of soccer players do).

Pelé is regarded as the most ambidextrous ball-striking player in history. He is also considered the best soccer player in history.

Additional noteworthy ambipedal soccer stars include Ronaldinho, Neymar, and Maradona.

BASEBALL

Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, and Ken Griffey, Jr. threw and batted left-handed, but wrote right-handed.

Ted Williams, the last MLB player to bat over .400 in a season, batted left-handed, but threw right-handed (considered “baseball’s most-desirable combo”). He also was know to throw both right- and left-handed.

Mickey Mantle is undoubtably MLB’s best switch hitter, with 536 home runs and three MVP titles. He was the first batter to ever hit home runs from both sides of the plate. For this, Mantle was considered ambidextrous.

Ty Cobb was the best left-handed batter in history, but he threw right-handed. His career hits record of 4,189 lasted until it was broken by Pete Rose in 1985. For 23 years straight he batted at least .300 (batting .323 in his last season, at age 41). He was also the first player inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Pete Rose spent 24 seasons playing as a switch-hitter with over 3,000 hits batting left-handed and over 1,000 batting right-handed. He’s considered the second-best switch hitter of all time with more hits than anyone in MLB history.

Considered the greatest left-handed pitcher of all time, Sandy Koufax, was known as “the Left Arm of God.” As the youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame, he had the most wins, shutouts, and strike outs of any lefty. Manager Gene Mauch was once asked if Koufax was the best lefty he ever saw. Mauch replied, “The best righty, too,” as if he was ambidextrous.

As rare as it is today, ambidextrous pitching is nothing new. There were four ambidextrous MLB pitchers in the 1880’s. The first ambidextrous pitcher in modern MLB history is Pat Venditte, who was taught by his dad to throw both left- and right-handed since the age of three.

Jurrangelo Cijntje is anticipated to become MLB’s next ambidextrous pitcher. He is the first person to ever throw over 90 MPH with both hands and is anticipated to reach 100 MPH. A natural lefty, Jurrangelo was inspired by his right-handed father, a professional pitcher in the Netherlands. Jurrangelo wanted to copy his dad and liked his glove, so he learned righty while also continuing lefty.

TENNIS

Rafael Nadal is considered one of the best tennis players in the world with at least five records that may never be broken. He does everything right-handed, except tennis. He also plays soccer left-footed

Right-handed tennis champion, Maria Sharapova, is a natural lefty. She began playing tennis left-handed… then started playing two-handed… and finally switched to right-handed. Sharapova is considered ambidextrous today.

Grand Slam doubles champion, Luke “Dual Hand” Jensen, plays both left- and right-handed, earning his nickname. He went on to coach tennis at Syracuse University and taught players to serve from both sides.

Search “ambidextrous tennis players” online and you’ll find the young Teo Davidov at the top. With a completely different style (considering he doesn’t swing backhanded), Teo was taught by his dad to develop his left side for body balance. Off the court, Teo is a dominant right-hander.
FOOTBALL

Already considered one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all time, the right-handed Patrick Mahomes has made left-handed throws in games (a rare feat in the sport). Mahomes’ experience with lefty sports play dates back to baseball as a child when he once called and then hit a lefty homerun.

Considered one of the most electrifying wide receivers in the NFL, Odell Beckham, Jr. intentionally develops his less-dominant hand to become a better player. His practice includes writing and brushing his teeth left-handed.

At 45 years-old, Tom Brady was the oldest NFL player once retiring in 2022. This right-handed thrower is considered the best quarterback of all time. Fans are surprised to know though that he almost played professional baseball instead. Brady was drafted to the Montreal Expos in 1995 as a catcher and left-handed batter, but went off to play college football instead.

Steve Young is considered the best left-handed quarterback in NFL history. He is also the first lefty QB in the Hall of Fame. There have been less than three dozen lefty quarterbacks in NFL history. Young says he does everything left-handed, except golf.

Mikey Gow is a notably ambidextrous high school quarterback. His goal is to play in the NFL. Videos of his ambidextrous skill even have Lamar Jackson (2023 NFL MVP) believe that Gow will become a #1 draft pick. Gow started throwing lefty at the age of nine due to an injured right arm.

GOLF

Phil Mickelson is undoubtedly the best left-handed golfer of all time. He’s also the oldest player to win a PGA Championship, at nearly 51 years-old. Mickelson does everything right-handed, except golf. He started playing lefty for the challenge of it, saying he can actually play righty easier!

Right-handed golfer Tiger Woods began golfing as a toddler, swinging his putter left-handed when mirroring his dad’s swing. His dad is left-handed, but golfs righty. After two weeks of watching his father swing right-handed, Tiger turned around and made the same switch, although he was able to continue switching back and forth growing up. One source says similar father/son mirroring is what made Phil Mickelson play left-handed. Today, even though he swings right-handed, Tiger says he ‘feels the swing’ in his left hand. In fact, many professional golfers are left-handed off the course. Right-dominance in golf can be easily explained by the commercial availability of clubs. In order to golf lefty, you need a set of lefty clubs; something rarely sold at most sporting goods stores.

ICE HOCKEY

Gordie Howe “was bigger, stronger, could skate faster and shoot the puck with either hand – left or right,” once said Bill Torrey, former NHL executive. Howe was ambidextrous. For many years he played more seasons than anyone, having played through five decades. He even played on the same team as his two sons! Also being dyslexic, he may have had an easier time in school if introduced to mirror reading. He lived to be 88-years old.

With more goals and assists than anyone in NHL history, Wayne Getzky is considered the greatest ice hockey player of all time. He played left-handed, but writes right-handed.

Jaromir Jagr, who has scored the most goals in professional ice hockey history, recently passed Gordie Howe as playing more seasons than anyone, a whopping 36 seasons! Just like Wayne Gretzky, he’s a left-handed player who writes right-handed.

Alex Ovechkin, at 39 years-old, broke Wayne Gretzky’s record of all-time career goals at 895 in 2025. Known for an ambidextrous, “bizarre handedness,” Ovechkin writes and plays hockey righty, but throws, plays soccer, and “hits the ball” lefty. He even has moved periodically between right- and left-wings. Out of the eight left wing players on the Washington Capitals team, Ovechkin is the only righty shooter.

BOXING & MARTIAL ARTS

Named Fighter of the Decade in the 2000’s and considered the greatest southpaw fighter of all time, Manny Pacquiao is right-handed, but primarily fights southpaw. He is notably ambidextrous for switching up his stance from time to time. Pacquiao became the oldest welterweight world champion in history at the age of 40. He also notably plays pool and basketball lefty and ambidextrous darts.

Mike Tyson, considered one of the best boxers in history, is naturally left-handed, but boxes right-handed. He reportedly is able to “seemlessly switch stances.”

One of the best strikers in MMA, Conor McGregor is left-handed and mostly fights in the southpaw stance, but switches to orthodox stance at times. At the age of 12, McGregor began training at a gym that taught all students to box ambidextrously.

The 11-time world champ, Oscar De La Hoya, is left-hand dominant, but fights right-handed, a rare characteristic among fighters.

For the legendary Bruce Lee, some consider his dominant fighting stance a mystery. While this right-handed martial arts master fought southpaw, many believe he was ambidextrous due to his often switch in fighting stances.

Although fictional, Sylvester Stallone’s character in the movie Rocky II used MMD to beat his opponent, Apollo Creed. It was Rocky Balboa’s trainer, Micky, who told the future champ that he had to switch his stance from southpaw to righty to “protect his injured eye, confuse Apollo, and make boxing history.” Rocky initially tells Mickey that he simply can’t learn to fight right-handed. Mickey furiously replies, “What’s ‘CAN’T!?’ There ain’t NO CAN’TS!!” Ultimately, Rocky learns to fight switch stance and becomes the world champ. In real life, Stallone signs autographs right-handed, but some websites say he’s left-handed. In interviews, he has even claimed being ambidextrous.

SKATEBOARDING

The Godfather of Street Skateboarding, Rodney Mullen, started skating switch stance for rehabilitative purposes in 2007. He says it’s brought him more balance, control, and has allowed him to stay successful. Rodney has been skating longer than perhaps any other professional street skater. Fellow switch skating phenom, Bob Burnquist, says that Rodney doesn’t consider ‘regular’ or ‘switch’ stances, that there’s only goofy (right-foot forward) or regular (left-foot forward); a highly ambidextrous comment to make.

One of the best switch skateboarders of all time, Paul Rodriguez even plays guitar both right and left-handed! Rodriguez released a video part featuring “Goofy Paul” versus “Switch Paul” in a game of SKATE in which Switch Paul won. He was one of the top switch skaters featured on an Ambidextrous video series by the Berrics. His switch 360 flip of the Santa Monica triple set for a Nike commercial says everything. And on a personal note, I remember seeing him on a cover of the Skateboard Mag back in 2005 as the first person to ever switch kickflip backside lipslide a handrail and was blown away!

As the first skateboarder to ever do the loop switch, Bob Burnquist is considered the best switch vert skater. His mind-boggling creativity and switch-stance ability has earned him consideration for being ambidextrous. He’s also been skating for various decades and sees no sign of retiring soon.

Brandon Turner has been a professional street skater for nearly 30 years now and is known for his switch-stance abilities. He recently won Trick of the Year with a switch hardflip down the legendary Wallenberg gap and did a switch drop-in off the City of Encinitas sign.

Additional skaters known for their superior switch-stance skill and longevity include Eric Koston and Guy Mariano, who each have been skateboarding professionally for over 30 years.

BMX

As the world record holder for highest air on a BMX bike and the first to ever do a 900 (also no-handed!), Mat Hoffman is often considered the best ever in his sport. He uniquely rode both frontside and backside in vert competitions. He became pro at 16; a record in the sport. Even after countless surgeries, he’s been riding BMX for over 30 years.

BILLIARDS

Having won eight world titles, Ronnie O’Sullivan is considered the greatest Snooker player ever. He is also the most ambidextrous in the sport and has played longer than any pro. He has also been, both, the youngest and oldest player to win the Masters (at 19 and 48, respectively).

HANDBALL

Captain of Team USA Beach Handball, Ebiye Jeremy is considered one the best in his sport globally. He is also the most ambidextrous. Known as the Handball Ninja, this 2-time MVP began developing ambidexterity at the age of 15 for baseball. As a multi-sport athlete, Ebiye has recognized many benefits to practicing MMD in football, basketball, baseball, rugby, and more.

VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball star, Maddison McKibbin, does everything righty… except volleyball. He developed this less-dominant left side for rehabilitation purposes, and even worked to develop his left side in other general activities. Maddison is considered one of the best volleyball players in the world and the most ambidextrous.

JUGGLING