Budinger was drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 2009 and played seven seasons in the NBA.
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Chase Budinger playing volleyball; Chase Budinger playing in the NBA
Former NBA player Chase Budinger will be playing for the U.S. national team at the Summer Olympics, but he will be competing in beach volleyball instead of basketball.
According to The Athletic and Yahoo Sports, Budinger, 36, and partner Miles Evans have secured the final spots on the U.S. beach volleyball team for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
As reported by Yahoo Sports, former professional basketball player Evans and his teammates outplayed another American duo, Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb, who were eliminated in the final qualifying tournament on Wednesday, June 5.
According to NBC Sports, Budinger will be the first athlete to compete in both Olympic beach volleyball and the NBA.
Budinger played basketball and volleyball at La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas, California. Volleyball Magazine He started as a basketball player in 2005 and won three state titles at the school before continuing to play basketball in college, according to Yahoo Sports.
The outlet reported that Budinger received scholarship offers to play basketball and volleyball at the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), but ultimately turned them down to play basketball at the University of Arizona.
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According to The Athletic, Budinger was a McDonald's All-American alongside NBA champion Kevin Durant in 2006. Durant, 35, will coach the U.S. men's basketball team in Paris alongside LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
In 2009, Budinger was drafted in the second round of the NBA by the Detroit Pistons.
During his seven seasons in the league, he played for the Minnesota Timberwolves, Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers, and also participated in the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Weekend.
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According to The Athletic, after retiring from the NBA, Budinger played professional basketball in Spain, but retired in 2017 to focus on beach volleyball. He made his AVP Tour debut in 2018.
Chase Budinger of the United States plays against Team Mexico during the USA vs. Mexico men's Beach Volleyball World Cup match on October 10, 2023.
Essene Hernandez/IPIX Group/Shutterstock
Chase Budinger of the United States plays for Team Mexico during the men's Beach Volleyball World Cup match between the United States and Mexico. October 10, 2023
Budinger told Yahoo Sports in 2019 that it was “tough” to leave “the sport I've played my whole life,” calling basketball his “first love.”
“Basketball has always been my first love,” Budinger told the outlet, adding, “I love the competitive spirit. I love the physicality.”
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“The only good thing is that it was planned this way,” he said of shifting his focus to beach volleyball. “The timing was the hardest part. It was a really anxious time.”
Budinger and Evans will join Andy Benesh and Miles Partin in representing the U.S. men's beach volleyball team in Paris.
To learn more about all of the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, visit TeamUSA.com The Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, starting July 26, can be watched on NBC and Peacock.
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