Right or Left Hand?

Tristan Thompson is a Brampton, Canada native that did something over this past summer that I have never seen before. Thompson played his college ball at the University of Texas where he stayed one season and then entered the NBA draft. Thompson is known for his high motor and his athletic ability which allows him to bring down some tough rebounds. Thompson has always been ambidextrous his whole life but always used his left hand for free throws and jump shots. In the summer of 2013 Tristan Thompson made the decision to shoot with his right hand instead of his left. A teammate of his challenged him to a free throw shooting contest with there opposite hands one day so Thompson shot them right handed. He won the contest and his teammate suggested that he shoot with his right hand all the time because shooting with his left hand was not really working out so well for Thompson. So Thompson ended up switching and this year he shot his highest free throw percentage since he has been in the league. Now obviously this transition was a lot easier for a guy like Thompson since he is ambidextrous, but is still a really difficult transition. For a guy that is not ambidextrous, this is impossible to completely change your dominant hand in the NBA. For Thompson though it is not just about the shooting part of it, it also is about changing your foot work as well. When he used his left hand he made moves that led to his left hand, but if he used those same moves as a right hand dominant player he would be all messed up. So I am sure he spent a lot of the summer working on his shot obviously, but also a lot on his footwork. I actually watch a decent amount of Cavaliers games each year and I could definitely tell an improvement from the free throw line, but it really didn't do much for his Field Goal Percentage. What I mean by that is Thompson isn't really a mid range jump shooter at all. All his shots are dunks, layups right at the rim, or four to eight foot floaters. I think this transition is good because it improved his Free Throw Percentage by 9 percentage points and Thompson is still really young so he could develop a jump shot.

Tristan Thompson represents Canadian basketball players really well because of how he acts on and off the court. Thompson has a really good sense of humor and he is not known for being a dirty player at all. He loves to help his community and he stands as a really good role model for not just Canadian kids, but all kids.