• Slug: Sports–Chase Budinger, 1,900 words.
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By Koby Braunstein
Cronkite News

PHOENIX – The Olympic Games bind the most esteemed athletes in history to a fraternity powered by mastery in sport.

Former University of Arizona standout and seven-year NBA veteran Chase Budinger joined this exclusive club at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, but his feats did not occur on the hardwood. Budinger left his mark in the beach volleyball sand for Team USA.

Beach volleyball has been a part of Budinger’s life dating back to his teenage years, and he maintained a burning ambition to play once basketball was in the rearview mirror.

“It was always the plan to try to play beach volleyball after I was done with the NBA as long as my body was still healthy and my knees were still intact,” Budinger said. “I knew that the sand was a lot more forgiving on the body and that guys could play into their 40s at a high level.”

Budinger, 36, was a standout two-sport athlete at La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, California, where the 6-foot-7 small forward made a name for himself as a five-star basketball recruit and earned co-MVP honors at 2006 McDonald’s All-American Game with 14-time NBA All-Star and Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant. He also took home National Player of the Year honors by Volleyball Magazine in the same year.

Budinger showcased undeniable talent in both sports, and schools like UCLA and USC offered him full-ride scholarships to be a dual-sport athlete at the collegiate level.

After careful thought, he went a different direction and turned down playing closer to home, quit volleyball and prioritized his hoop dreams at a school that doesn’t offer men’s volleyball as a Division I sport to this day.

Budinger packed his bags and moved to Tucson, where he played under the tutelage of former legendary University of Arizona men’s basketball coach Lute Olson.

“There were two reasons why I chose the University of Arizona,” Budinger said. “One, I wanted to play for Lute Olson. Every time I talked with him and went to the campus, I really just fell in love with his style and the way that he coached. Everything about the program that he created I really wanted to be a part of.

“I also wanted to not be a two-sport athlete anymore. I really just wanted to focus on one sport, which was basketball going into college. I felt that going to (Arizona) was my best chance to do that because I could’ve been distracted trying to play two sports if I went to (USC or UCLA), and who knows what could’ve happened.”

Budinger spent three years with the Wildcats before declaring for the 2009 NBA Draft, averaging 17 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists over his collegiate career. The Detroit Pistons selected him in the second round with the 44th overall pick and traded him the same night to the Houston Rockets.

Over his seven years with the Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns, Budinger came off the bench in 357 of the 407 games played. He provided valuable minutes as a spark plug with tenacity on the defensive end, jump-out-the-gym type athleticism and pure shooting ability from behind the arc.

Budinger shot 35.2% from 3-point range in his career, including a career-high 40.2% during the 2011-2012 season with the Rockets – the 11th best clip in the NBA that year.

At the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest in Orlando, Budinger brought down the roof in the final round: a blindfolded reverse slam in a Cedric Ceballos jersey in a tribute to the former Phoenix Sun forward’s winning dunk in the 1992 edition of the contest. It was Budinger’s signature moment in a runners-up performance to former Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans.

Not being a ball-dominant scoring option was a tough transition for Budinger, who ranks 11th on the all-time scoring list in Arizona’s program history with 1,697 points.

“My role (in the NBA) was to come off the bench, score and be an energy kind of player,” Budinger said. “I tried to do that to the best of my abilities. It’s really tough because when you first come on to a team, you are so used to getting the ball and getting the touches.”

Budinger chuckled while reflecting on his welcome-to-the-NBA moment – an encounter at the rim with one of the greatest players in NBA history.

“I was so used to driving to the rim to jump and hang to do a layup,” Budinger said. “I tried to do that against Tim Duncan, and his long arms came out of nowhere and he swatted me. That was the first time that someone was able to do that. I had to adjust and change my game to play against these better players.

“It’s pretty wild. When you get to that level, you’ve got to keep raising the level to play against these superstars.”

The injury bug forced Budinger to miss extended periods later in his career. In his first two seasons in Houston, he appeared in 152 of a possible 164 regular season games (92.7%).

But over his final five years in the NBA, he appeared in 255 of a possible 410 regular season games (62.1%).

Budinger spent his last year of professional basketball (2016-2017) overseas in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain with Saski Baskonia before calling it a career at the age of 28.

“Walking away from basketball was really tough,” Budinger said. “I think every player goes through some kind of depression or sadness doing it because it’s such a big part of everyone’s lives for so long. It’s the main thing that us players have focused on every day.”

Budinger’s retirement paved the way for a fresh beginning in his athletic career to pursue beach volleyball full time.

He quickly “fell in love” with beach volleyball and his new lifestyle on sand that allowed for a flexible schedule, bike rides to work, unlimited sunshine and traveling the world for competitions.

Two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal became Budinger’s first partner on the Association of Volleyball Professionals Tour, and the former NBA player was thrust into matchups with the elites of the sport instantaneously.

“(High-level tournaments) helped propel my learning,” Budinger said. “I didn’t have to grind a year or two to get to that point. We were already playing the best teams in the AVP.

“Sean is a legend in beach volleyball (and) a legend in the U.S. system. He chose me to partner up with. I give him a lot of thanks for providing me with those opportunities to start my career.”

Budinger eventually formed a new pair with Miles Evans in 2022, and the two sat down with each other to discuss their shared Olympic desires.

“We said to each other, ‘Let’s go on this Olympics run,’” Evans said. “ We hired a coach, created a system, and decided to go all in. We wanted to play all the events we possibly could and be the team that grinds and wants it more than everyone else.”

The pair hired Dan Waineraich to guide them on their quest for Paris. The Brazilian coach is highly regarded in the beach volleyball realm, mentoring countless AVP-caliber players over the years.

From the moment Waineraich saw Budinger’s beach game, he was impressed.

“Chase is an athlete,” Waineraich said. “Not many players can move as well as him and he is very fit. He was always really good, but he has gotten so much better over time.”

Evans described the qualification process for the Paris Games as “the most stressful thing I’ve ever been a part of.”

The duo played 11 tournaments in 14 weekends at one point in qualifying for the Olympics, which left little room to dwell over the ebbs and flows.

Despite contrasting personalities, their on-court chemistry blossomed.

“I’m a very enthusiastic person, and I wear my emotions on my sleeves,” Evans said. “Chase is a very stoic and consistent person. He’s very professional. He brought that from the NBA to our team.”

Budinger and Evans emerged as one of the top 17 teams in the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball Olympic Rankings within the qualification time period, which ran from Jan. 1, 2023 to June 9 of this year.

Their next stop was Paris.

“That feeling of, ‘Finally we are able to be Olympians’, was a really special moment,” Budinger said. “We were preparing for a match when we found out the news. It was tough to refocus because we knew that we were going to the Olympics. All the emotions poured out in that moment.”

Added Waineraich: “All the hard work paid off. There was doubt (along the way), but I always had faith, and they did it.”

Budinger and Evans played at Eiffel Tower Stadium, a temporary open-air venue with a stunning backdrop of the Eiffel Tower. The duo finished 1-2 in Pool F play, including a win over France in their opening match – the Americans’ most complete performance of the competition – and the atmosphere was electric.

“We did a great job of preparing against France,” Budinger said. “We knew that winning that match probably guaranteed us to make the playoffs. We came in with a lot of confidence even though the crowd was going to be on their side.

“That was the loudest environment at a beach volleyball event I’ve ever been to. Miles and I did a really good job of staying calm and present throughout.”

Budinger and Evans advanced to the Round of 16 after a straight sets victory in the lucky loser match against Thomas Hodges and Zachary Schubert of Australia; a matchup between teams that finished third in their respective pool.

Christian Sørum and Anders Mol of Norway – the 2020 Olympic gold medalists – ousted the Americans in the Round of 16, dashing their hopes of medaling on the podium.

Budinger pondered before the Games how he would find a balance between experiencing the Olympic Village, watching other events, and taking care of business on the beach.

He beamed with gratitude while recalling how he navigated his three weeks in Paris.

“I enjoyed the overall Olympics experience, more so on my days off and when I had free time,” Budinger said. “I was able to see the NBA players during the opening ceremonies and chat with them on the boat. I connected with some of the guys I played against like Kevin Durant, Steph Curry, Jrue Holiday, and Lebron James. It was really special for me to see those guys. The respect level that they have for me participating in another sport at the Olympics is cool.

“Those days of practice, weight lifting and match days I was hyper-focused on one goal in mind.”

Budinger has his eyes set on the 2028 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles when he will be 40. It would be a “storybook ending” for the California native in a distinguished athletic career.

He felt the love from many passionate and patriotic fans after touching back down stateside. Imagine the boost home turf will give American athletes in 2028 to medal in front of an incredible support base.

“I want to go for the next Olympics,” Budinger said. “I want to experience it again. Now that I’ve gone through it I know what to expect. I know how hard I need to work when that time comes.

“It would be amazing to play at home in front of our fans and get that USA chant as loud as can be. That is definitely motivation for me to get to the next Olympics.”

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