Former NBA player Chase Budinger completed his dramatic career U-turn on Monday when he won his first beach volleyball game at the Olympics.
Budinger, who didn’t start playing regularly on the beach until after his NBA career ended, qualified for the Summer Games with partner Miles Evans.
Both of them are making their Olympic debuts in Paris and got off to the perfect start with a routine win over two home favorites.
They claimed a 21-14, 21-11 victory over French duo Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Youssef Krou on the sand.
Budinger’s basketball frame came in handy during the game as the 6ft 7 powerhouse blocked shots and swatted away spikes.
Former NBA player Chase Budinger has won his first beach volleyball game at the Olympics
The 6ft 7 powerhouse blocked shots and swatted away spikes during a comfortable victory
Coming out of high school, Budinger was a star player in both basketball and beach volleyball.
In the latter sport, he was named the National Player of the Year in 2006 and even earned MVP honors in a junior Olympic volleyball tournament.
But once it became time to choose, he left beach volleyball behind temporarily and pursued basketball at Arizona.
After a stellar sophomore season in 2007-08 he declared for the NBA Draft – where he was a projected first round pick, but backed out.
He returned to play again for one more season and went to the draft again in 2009 – where he was picked 44th overall by the Detroit Pistons.
On draft night, his rights were traded to the Houston Rockets – which were his first team.
In his first three seasons, he averaged between 20-22 minutes a game and shot between 42 and 44 percent from the field.
Budinger and partner Miles Evans beat French duo Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Youssef Krou
Before the Olympics, Budinger was a star basketball player and even played in the NBA
He was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves – where he played fewer games over the course of three seasons.
Budinger was traded once again to the Indiana Pacers. He played 49 games and was waived in March – eventually signing with the Phoenix Suns three days later.
After that season, he signed briefly with the Brooklyn Nets where he was waived again – leading to a brief stint in Europe.
He retired in 2017 – deciding to turn his full focus onto the sand and has been on the AVP tour ever since.
By playing on Monday, Budinger has become the first person to play Olympic beach volleyball and play a regular-season NBA game.
The only person who followed a similar path was Keith Erickson – who was on the indoor volleyball team at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and won an NBA title with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1972.
