5 NBA stars who also excelled at other sports

Being a professional athlete is a childhood dream of many but not many can make it to the top of a sport they love. Many drop out at school level while others opt out at college citing academics as the reason. Only those with passion and hard work can make sports a bread earner. And then there are a few who excel in more than one sport because of their exceptional talent and athleticism.

Here is a list of 5 NBA stars who made a mark in other sports as well.

#5 Danny Ainge

Danny Ainge in action for the Sacramento Kings

The current Boston Celtics' President of Basketball Operations started his professional career with baseball playing for Toronto Blue Jays in Major League Baseball (MLB) for three seasons. He still holds the honor of being the youngest player to hit a home run for the Blue Jays. He also played football at his school in Oregon and is the only person to be named as a high school first-team All-American in football, baseball, and basketball. He was drafted in the NBA by Boston Celtics in 1981 and went on to play 14 seasons in the league for Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, and Portland Trail Blazers.

#4 Greg Lee

The 1973 NCAA basketball champions- UCLA comprising of Greg Lee

An all-American basketball player at high school in California. He was the starting point guard for UCLA in NCAA for two seasons before playing two professional seasons; one in American Basketball Association and one in NBA for Portland Trail Blazers. He went on to become an accomplished beach volleyball player. His volleyball career started in 1971 and went up to 1982. He notched 29 career wins out of which 25 came partnering Jim Menges, another seasoned beach volleyball player.

#3 Scott Burrell

Scott Burrell is the current basketball head coach of Southern Connecticut State University

He is the first American to be a first-round draft pick of two major sporting organizations, i.e., MLB and NBA. Having played baseball in the minor league he was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays but he concentrated on his balling skills and got picked by Charlotte Hornets in the first round of NBA drafts in 1993. He won his only championship ring with Chicago Bulls in 1998. He moved out of the NBA to play in other leagues around the world in China, Japan and Philippines.

#2 Tim Duncan

Tim Duncan in action against Lakers' Kobe Bryant

The 1998 NBA rookie of the year, Tim Duncan had a very successful basketball career with the San Antonio Spurs for 19 seasons. But little do we know that his first love among sports was swimming. He wanted to replicate his elder sister Tricia who represented the USA in swimming at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Tim excelled at 50m, 100m, and 400m freestyle and aimed to represent the USA team at 1992 Barcelona Olympics. His dream remained unfulfilled as his town was hit by a hurricane destroying the only Olympic-sized swimming pool on the island. This resulted in him leaving out swimming and going on to be one of all time greats in NBA.

#1 Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain was a giant with a height of 7'1''

'The Big Dipper' as Wilt is popularly known as was a master of many arts. He was an ace track and field athlete competing in high jump, broad jump, running and shot put. He took to basketball as it was considered the king in Philadelphia. He is regarded as one of the greatest NBA players of all times. Having started his career with Harlem Globetrotters he went on to play for 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers, and the Golden State Warriors.

His jerseys no. 13 were retired by all the teams including the University of Kansas. After his basketball days were over, he played volleyball in the International Volleyball Association (IVA) and also presided the organization. He was inducted into IVA Hall of Fame for his contribution to the sport. He was also offered pro-boxing and football opportunities