When New Orleans center Alexis Ajinca starts discussing his childhood participation and world-class ability in a different sport from basketball, he often receives incredulous looks of disbelief. That may be because it’s difficult to picture the now 7-foot-2 native of France in a BMX race, running circles around the competition on his bike as a pre-teen. Luckily for Ajinca, whenever a new friend or acquaintance thinks Ajinca is just telling a tall tale, he simply pops in videotape from the 1997 BMX world championships in Saskatoon, Canada. In the recording, a 9-year-old Ajinca – already about 6-foot tall – finishes as a runner-up in his age group.

“Nobody believes me,” a laughing Ajinca said of the response to his global success in BMX. “So I find the video and show them.”

Before he decided to focus on basketball as a teen, Ajinca was on his way to big things in the less-popular sport, including winning multiple French national titles and the European championship. In addition to his second-place finish in Saskatoon, he took fifth place in the worlds when they were held in London (his older sister won a world BMX title in 2003).

“We went all around the world,” he said.

Ajinca says his decision to spend the vast majority of his time on hoops was a family one, based on the realization that a basketball career held more promise for the rapidly-growing boy than BMX. That proved to be a wise choice when Ajinca became a 7-footer and eventually debuted in the NBA in 2008 with Charlotte.

“I just started to play basketball at 11 or 12 and my family told me I had to make a choice,” Ajinca said. “They said I’d probably have a better future in basketball, even though I was succeeding in BMX and was way better in it. So I just decided to go toward basketball and it worked.”

The BMX events that Ajinca competed in consisted of dirt-track races featuring obstacles and jumps. He first became interested in the sport after watching some of his neighbors in his Saint-Etienne neighborhood participate; to his surprise, he quickly picked up the intricacies of BMX and was immediately successful.

“I just happened to be really good at it right away. So I kept going and started winning titles,” Ajinca said.

The six-year NBA veteran says there are few comparisons between BMX and basketball, but one skill that may translate to his current profession is hand-eye coordination. Despite his 7-2, 248-pound frame, Ajinca is a skilled mid-range shooter and has vastly improved his post moves, footwork and turnaround jumper since coming to New Orleans early in the 2013-14 season.

“BMX is a completely different sport,” he said. “The biggest similarity might be that you need coordination, because you have to peddle and at the same time watch what’s in front of you and anticipate what’s going on. The mindset might be similar. Everything from that standpoint might prepare you for basketball. But it’s a very individual sport. There is no team element to it. You really have to push yourself. Being able to succeed is more in your head and your heart.”

After giving up the sport permanently more than a decade ago, Ajinca says he sometimes misses some of the unique aspects of BMX, which can’t be replicated in other sports.

“I do miss it. It’s a feeling you can’t have playing basketball,” he said. “The feeling when you peddle super-fast and do a big jump… that feeling when you’re in the air is completely different. It’s a sensation you don’t get in other sports or in life.”

He doesn’t dwell on it, because basketball proved to be the right decision, but the 27-year-old also sometimes wonders about what he could’ve accomplished in BMX - and for good reason. The thought crosses his mind particularly when he tunes in to BMX events during the Olympics.

“The funny thing is when I was in BMX and competing against friends who were the same age as me, I was crushing them every time,” a smiling Ajinca said. “Now I’m watching the Olympics, and they are competing for France! And they’re doing well, too. So I think, I probably could’ve been in the Olympics!”