Former Arizona Wildcats and Phoenix Suns guard Chase Budinger will be taking his talents to the sand at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Budinger, along with teammate Miles Evans, will be one of two men's beach volleyball teams representing the United States this summer. According to NBC Sports, Budinger will be the first player to play in both the NBA regular season and Olympic beach volleyball.
While attending La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California, Budinger excelled in basketball and volleyball. She was named a McDonald's All-American in basketball in 2006 and was named Volleyball Magazine's national high school player of the year in 2005.
After high school, Budinger played three seasons at Arizona State, averaging 17 points, 2.8 assists and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 46.9% from the field and 38.3% from three-point range.
He also earned First Team All-Pac-10 honors in 2009, his final season with the Wildcats.
Budinger was the 44th overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft and played seven seasons with the Houston Rockets (2009-12), Minnesota Timberwolves (2012-15), Indiana Pacers (2015-16) and Phoenix Suns (2016). He averaged 7.9 points, 1.2 assists and 3 rebounds per game.
Budinger also played one season overseas with Baskonia in Spain from 2016-2017.
