Rumors

Who are some of the NBA players that you’ve been in the sand with where you were like, “Dude, this guy could be a pro easily”? Who’s nice? Chase Budinger: Zero. None. None. But there have been a few guys that have impressed me. Richard Jefferson, J.J. Barea, Blake Griffin—those are just a few who have come out and played with us. They can compete and have fun with it, but not at the level that we play at.

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Former NBA player Chase Budinger and Miles Evans were overmatched by the Norwegians in the lucky loser stage of beach volleyball Monday, bringing their Paris Olympics to an end. The American team started the Summer Games with a victory over host France but lost to the Netherlands and Spain, requiring a victory Monday to reach the round of 16.

ESPN

The professional basketball lifestyle became something he simply didn't want to live anymore. "I kind of wanted to enjoy being home and enjoy not traveling as much. And there was just a lot of little aspects of my life during that time where I wanted to mostly just stay," he said. "That's ultimately why I switched sports. ... I kind of just wanted a different lifestyle change."

ESPN

Budinger started playing indoor volleyball competitively at 12 years old before getting into beach volleyball around 14. Throughout high school, Moonlight State Beach in Encinitas became the place to be -- most of the best San Diego area volleyball players grew up there, according to Budinger. He said he was the same, participating in local tournaments. "I would have one of my buddies and we would just go out and do the tournament and try to compete," he said. "I wasn't anything great back then in high school. I was more just doing it for the love of the game."

ESPN

He juggled the sport next to indoor volleyball and basketball at La Costa Canyon High School. Budinger won three state titles in indoor volleyball. He was also the No. 4-ranked basketball prospect in the nation and shared McDonald's All American Game MVP honors with a future Hall of Famer -- Kevin Durant. The USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins offered Budinger a chance to play both sports in college. But, he committed to the Arizona Wildcats, deciding to put volleyball on the shelf and see how far basketball could take him.

ESPN

NBA on ESPN: Former NBA player Chase Budinger just won his FIRST match at the #Olympics as a member of Team USA men's beach volleyball 🇺🇸🏐 pic.twitter.com/PHp55j3WW1

Twitter

Former NBA player Chase Budinger is going to the Olympics, but not for basketball. The 6-foot-7 former small forward clinched his bid to Paris on Wednesday to represent the U.S. in beach volleyball. Budinger and partner Miles Evans secured the second and final men’s spot after another U.S. duo — Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb — failed to advance in the final qualifying tournament to earn enough points to overtake Budinger and Evans in the Olympic rankings. The rankings become official on June 10.

New York Times

After a stint playing in Spain, Budinger retired from basketball in 2017 to focus on beach volleyball. In 2018, he debuted on the AVP tour, partnering with Sean Rosenthal. He’s since partnered with Casey Patterson (2019), Chaim Schalk (2020), Troy Field (2021-22) and Evans. “It was tough making that decision of stopping a sport I’ve been doing all my life,” Budinger told Yahoo Sports in 2019. “The only good thing is it was planned this way. Just the timing of it was the toughest part. I was in that really unsure phase.” Budinger will become the first athlete to play Olympic beach volleyball and an NBA regular-season game, according to NBC Sports.

New York Times

Steve Nash: Shout out to @CBudinger winning his first @avpbeac volleyball title in Hermosa yesterday. After an @nba career switching to the beach is damn impressive. Well done fella!

Twitter

John W. Davis: Your winners of the 2019 AVP Hermosa Beach Open Men’s Draw, former NBA player Chase Budinger and Olympian Casey Patterson. @avpbeach #BeachVolleyball

Twitter

Chase Budinger dropped by the CBS Local Studios to discuss the transition from basketball to volleyball. “I look at it as my next journey,” said Budinger to DJ Sixsmith. “My basketball days are over. I had seven years in the NBA, eight years professionally, and I gave a lot of things to basketball. But, now it’s on to my volleyball career and it’s been going really well so far. It’s been fun, it’s been challenging. It’s definitely something new and learning. I have been just enjoying it and taking it one step at a time.”

CBS Los Angeles

“In today’s game, I could probably play four maybe some five, which is crazy,” said Budinger. “It’s crazy because I was a three and sometimes a two I would never sniff the four or five in my career. But now, just because of the small ball and how everyone is going to it, I would have been able to play those spots.” But, despite that curiosity, Budinger doesn’t have thoughts of going back. He is all in on volleyball and looking to become the best player he can be on the beach.

CBS Los Angeles

He participated in the dunk contest in 2012, jumping over Diddy on one of his dunks. But, the most memorable moment came in his first matchup against Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. “The only time I was really star struck was when I played against Kobe for the first time,” said Budinger. “I grew up a Lakers fan so playing against him my first time was probably my one star struck moment.”

CBS Los Angeles

Budinger, 30, played three seasons of college basketball at University of Arizona. He averaged 17 points and 5.8 rebounds. He averaged 7.9 points and 3.0 rebounds while playing for the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns. Now, he’s trying to make a splash in beach volleyball. He knows he has some work to do in that regard, his flashes of brilliance notwithstanding. “Just working on my blocking,” he said when asked about specific skills he needs to improve. “I think that’s been the most frustrating thing for me, so I think that is something I could definitely improve and get better at.”

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