Chase Budinger played seven years in the NBA, and now he is taking his talents to the sand, as he will represent the U.S. in beach volleyball at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
This is not some hobby that Budinger picked up recently, as many people might not know the 6-foot-7 small forward was named the 2006 National Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine, in addition to being co-MVP (with Kevin Durant) at the 2006 McDonald's All-American game.
"I decided to see how far basketball could take me," Budinger said in an interview before the last Olympics. "But in the back of my mind, I knew I could always go back to volleyball after I was done with basketball."
Budinger talked about how he actually would play beach volleyball with NBA teammates Richard Jefferson, Kevin Love and Luke Walton during his basketball career, which helped the multi-sport athlete keep his skills honed in.
Budinger, 36, and his volleyball partner Miles Evans, 34, are now ranked second in the U.S. and 13th in the world. That is to say, Budinger will be the first NBA player to be in the Olympics for outdoor beach volleyball.
To point out, there was one other NBA player by the name of Keith Erickson (1965-1977), who played on the 1964 U.S. Olympic men's indoor volleyball team.
On the Sandcast volleyball podcast, Budinger talked about how lucky he was to retire from one professional sport and then immediately find another path.
"Most guys, when they finish a sport, they're kind of confused, or they're kind of lost for the next journey or whatever life takes them next," Budinger said. "I was lucky enough to just transition into a different sport immediately and play at the highest level."
After being a second-round draft selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, Budinger played for four different teams (Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, Phoenix Suns); he averaged 7.9 points (43% FG; 35.2% 3P), 3.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 19.7 minutes per game.
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