Chase Budinger is a name that will sound familiar to basketball fans and beach volleyball fans. The eight-year NBA small forward is headed to the Paris Olympics as a representative of Team USA on the sand, not the hardwood!
He traded his high-top sneakers and shooter’s sleeves for bare feet and sunglasses.
Budinger, 36, and his on-court partner Miles Evans, 34, clinched the last U.S. Olympic beach volleyball spot on early Wednesday morning. They did so with a late surge in qualifying.
Budinger and Miles moved into second place in the United States rankings last month by passing Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb. The latter could not reclaim their spot. They lost their first match in the final qualifying tournament, which guaranteed the former a place in the Olympics.
Miles comes from a volleyball background. He played indoor at UC Santa Barbara before moving to the beach.
Chase Budinger also comes from a volleyball background!
Kind of…
The 6-foot-6, 215-pound redhead was named as Volleyball Magazine’s National Player of the Year as a senior in high school. La Costa Canyon in California won three state championships while he was there.
Budinger was also one of the top basketball recruits in the country. He ranked as the fourth-best player in the nation and was named co-MVP of the 2006 McDonald’s All-American game with Kevin Durant.
Although he could have gone anywhere in the country for either sport, Budinger chose to play basketball at the University of Arizona. The four-star prospect started every single game of the Wildcats’ season in his first year and was dubbed the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. He received First-Team All-Pac-10 honors as a senior in 2009.
Despite all of his success on the collegiate level, Budinger was not drafted until the 44th overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft. Houston had him for four seasons. Minnesota had him for 3.5. Indiana had him for only one. Phoenix had him for just half of his final year.
Budinger chose to retire from basketball after a brief stint in Spain. A transition (back) to volleyball was the driving force behind the decision to hang it up.
His AVP Tour debut took place in 2018. He has been on an upward trajectory ever since!
While Budinger’s presence at the net is where he is most intimidating, opposing teams rarely give him the chance to hit. As a result, he has become a fantastic setter— especially in transition.
I will never get tired of watching eight-year NBA small forward Chase Budinger toss butter sets on the highest level of pro volleyball #AVPMBO pic.twitter.com/iDWvBWwkgP
— Grayson Weir (@GsonJW)
Now, in just his sixth season of professional beach volleyball, former Pac-10 basketball star and NBA veteran Chase Budinger is going to wear the stars and stripes for Team USA at the Olympics. And there is no double NBC is going to tell this unique sports story again and again and again, so get used to it!
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