Perhaps it goes without saying, but I'll go ahead and say it anyway… most professional athletes have the athletic makeup required to excel in multiple sports at the highest level. There are countless stories, ranging from guys who played professionally in two sports simultaneously (Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders), to guys who probably could've done so if they wanted (Kyler Murray and John Elway), to guys who stopped playing one sport to pursue another despite not having serious experience playing the other (Michael Jordan and Tim Tebow), to guys who were nationally-known high school standouts in two sports (Allen Iverson and LeBron James). That last category is the one that former Arizona basketball star Chase Budinger fits into.

While in high school in Encinitas, California, Chase Budinger was the 4th-ranked basketball player in the nation, but his accomplishments on the hardwood paled in comparison to his success on the volleyball court. For three consecutive years, Budinger led his high school to the California state championship, and during his senior season, he was named the National Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine. 

Despite his dual-sport potential, Chase Budinger decided to focus solely on basketball in college, attending the University of Arizona and eventually becoming a 2nd round pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. But now fifteen years later, the pinnacle of Budinger's athletic career will take place on the sands in Paris, France, as he and his beach volleyball teammate Miles Evans have earned a chance to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Amazingly, Chase is not the only member of the Budinger family who has made a career out of playing volleyball. Both his sister Brittanie and his brother Duncan have played professional volleyball over the years. And who knows, had Budinger chosen to go to USC or UCLA — where he would've had the option to play both basketball and volleyball simultaneously — instead of Arizona, maybe his Olympics debut wouldn't have had to wait so long.

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From Arizona to the NBA: Chase Budinger's basketball journey 

Rather than going to dual-sport route, Chase Budinger decided to focus solely on basketball when he went to college, and given his success at Arizona, it's hard to say he made the wrong choice. Budinger was named the Pac-10 Rookie of the Year in 2007 and would go on to be named an All-Pac-10 performer twice during his career with the Wildcats. Budinger's 17.0 points per game scoring average for his career is eighth-best in Arizona Wildcats history.

After a three-year career with the Arizona Wildcats, Budinger made the jump to the NBA, where he enjoyed a seven-year NBA career, making over $18 million in the process and racking up over 3,000 career points. Budinger would play one season professionally in Spain before turning his attention full-time to Volleyball in 2017.