Former NBA Player Going to Olympics in Beach Volleyball

Chase Budinger, who spent seven seasons in the NBA with four different teams, has officially reached the pinnacle of his second career.

Budinger has qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, but not for basketball. Budinger will be playing for the United States in beach volleyball, as he qualified for the final spot on Team USA with his partner, Mike Evans. Budinger and Evans are the No. 13-ranked beach volleyball duo in the world.

Budinger, 36, was a standout high school basketball and volleyball player at La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas, California. He elected to focus on basketball after high school, which proved to be a great decision, as he attended the University of Arizona, where he spent three seasons.

Budinger was the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2007, made third-team All-Pac-10 in 2008, and made first-team All-Pac-10 in 2009, his final season at the collegiate level.

Budinger was selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft at No. 44 overall by the Detroit Pistons. He was traded to the Houston Rockets on draft night, which is where he’d spend the first three years of his career. Budinger then played with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Indiana Pacers, before finishing his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns.

Budinger was a solid role player in the NBA, averaging 7.9 points and 3.0 rebounds in 19.7 minutes per game across his 407 career games. His NBA career came to an end when he was 27, and he went overseas to play in Spain to conclude his basketball career.

In 2017, Budinger decided to retire from basketball altogether, and switch back over to volleyball — but this time on the beach. Budinger made his debut on the AVP tour in 2018 and has continued to improve over the last six years.

Now, he’ll be heading to the Olympics, where he’ll become the only person to ever play a regular-season NBA game and Olympic beach volleyball.

The U.S. men’s team has three gold medals and one silver medal in beach volleyball, which became an official Olympic sport in 1996. On the women’s side, the U.S. has won a medal in each of the seven Olympics — four gold, one silver, and two bronze medals.

Budinger and Evans will be one of two American men’s teams, joining Andy Benesh and Miles Partain. On the women’s side, it will be Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes on one team, and Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss on the other team.

The Olympics kick off on July 26, 2024.