Former NBA player Chase Budinger completed a dramatic career turnaround on Monday when he won his first beach volleyball match 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 teammate Miles Evans.
Both are making their Olympic debut in Paris and got off to a good start with a routine win over two local favourites.
They claimed a 21-14, 21-11 victory over French duo Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Youssef Krou on sand.
Budinger’s basketball frame came in handy during the game, as the 6’5″ powerhouse blocked shots and deflected drives.
Former NBA player Chase Budinger won his first beach volleyball match at the Olympics
The 6-foot-5 powerhouse blocked shots and deflected shots 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 National Player of the Year in 2006 and even earned MVP honors at a Junior Olympic volleyball tournament.
But once it came time to choose, she temporarily left beach volleyball and dedicated herself to basketball in Arizona.
After an excellent second season in 2007–08, he declared for the NBA Draft, where he was projected to be selected in the first round, but withdrew.
He returned to play one more season and went to the draft again in 2009, where he was selected 44th overall by the Detroit Pistons.
On draft night, his rights were traded to the Houston Rockets, which was his first team.
In his first three seasons, he averaged between 20 and 22 minutes per game and shot between 42 and 44 percent from the field.
Budinger and his partner Miles Evans beat the 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 three seasons.
Budinger was traded back 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 briefly signed with the Brooklyn Nets, where he was waived again, leading to a brief stint in Europe.
He retired in 2017, decided to focus all his attention on the sand and has been on the AVP tour ever since.
By playing Monday, Budinger became the first person to play in Olympic beach volleyball and an NBA regular-season game.
The only person to follow 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.