- Chase Budinger played seven years in the NBA from 2009 to 2016 with four different teams.
- The 36-year-old earned over $18.2 million during his NBA career but was compelled to reach his Olympic dream in beach volleyball.
- Bundinger entered his first season in the AVP Beach Volleyball league in 2018 and recently made his Olympic debut with Team USA.
Chase Budinger spent seven years of his life realizing his NBA dream in the top basketball league in the world. Now, the 36-year-old athlete is living an entirely new dream at the Summer Games.
Budinger was never the most impactful player in the NBA. His seven years can be characterized as a role player off the bench. The La Jolla, CA, native averaged 7.9 points, three rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.
After a successful collegiate career at Arizona, Budinger was selected with the No. 44 overall pick of the 2009 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. He was subsequently traded to the Houston Rockets on the same night.
The 6-foot-6 small forward’s best season in the NBA was in 2010-11 with the Houston Rockets, where he scored 9.8 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest. Perhaps, the biggest highlight of Budinger’s career was participating in the 2012 NBA Slam Dunk contest.
Reaching the Olympics with the Team USA basketball team was nothing more than a pipedream for Budinger.
Budinger Fulfills Olympic Dream on the Beach Volleyball Court
This wasn’t the end of his career, however. After playing in only 17 games with the Phoenix Suns in the 2015-16 season, Budinger put his focus into beach volleyball, making his debut in the AVP Beach Volleyball circuit in 2018.
The former basketball player instantly made an impression, as he nabbed the AVP Rookie of the Year award. Alongside partner Casey Patterson in 2019, Budinger won his first AVP Beach Volleyball title.
Despite failing to make the Tokyo 2020 beach volleyball team, Budinger flew across the Atlantic Ocean as a member of Team USA to compete with teammate Miles Evans.
The journey has just started for him at Paris 2024. The first-time volleyball pair made their debut against France’s Youssef Krou and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat. The Americans easily handled Krou and Gauthier-Rat in a straight-set, 21-14, 21-11, victory.
Evans and Budinger were in terrific form to oust the French team without any issues. Qualifying for the Olympics is one major goal achieved for Budinger. Now that he’s gotten a taste of some success, winning gold is the ultimate achievement for the former NBA player.
Up next for Evans and Budinger is their next preliminary-round match against the Netherlands’ Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot.
Budinger Has Long Odds to Win Gold
The American duo are among the longshots to win Olympic gold in men’s beach volleyball at Paris 2024. Per Bovada, Budinger and his teammate entered the Olympics with +5000 odds to win the gold medal.
The oddsmakers give them only a 2% chance of capturing the Olympic title on the beach volleyball court. Additionally, they face steep odds of defeating the Netherlands in their second match at Paris 2024.
The Dutch duo Boermans and de Groot is -385 to beat Evans and Budinger.
Sweden is a heavy favorite to blow past the Olympic field to win the gold medal. Jonatan Hellvig and David Ahman have even odds of being Olympic champions in 2024.
Although Budinger’s odds of winning gold are improbable, the multi-sport athlete is already a winner. A seven-year NBA career and a trip to the Olympics is something that very few people have been able to accomplish — never mind in an entirely different sport.
Tune in to Paris 2024 to see if Budinger and Evans can pull off the unthinkable and shock the world for Olympic gold!
