– “I did not want to end my career and become confused about my future. I just wanted to have a solid plan B”. Well, calling participating at the Olympics in Paris a “plan B” is quite a statement. But nothing has ever been ordinary in Chase Budinger’s life, the former NBA player turned beach volley master, and representing USA at the Olympic tournament over the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, at 36 years of age.
“I 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. All the best San Diego area volleyball players grew up there. I just wanted to be like them”.
At age 14 you dream may change on a daily basis. As a student of La Costa Canyon High School, while juggling indoor volleyball and basketball, Budinger won three state titles in indoor volleyball and found himself number 4-ranked basketball prospect in the nation along with a guy named Kevin Durant. When the Arizona Wildcats called him up in college, Chase decided finally volleyball on the shelf and see how far basketball could take him.
COLLEGE – “Being a college athlete, it’s tough in itself of just doing classes and playing one sport,” he said. “I couldn’t even imagine trying to do two sports with that and doing it at a high level.”
Budinger’s High School sport career went pretty well, his name entered the draft in 2009. The Detroit Pistons selected him then traded him to the Houston Rockets. Budinger’s seven-year NBA career was most memorable for his performance in the 2012 NBA dunk contest, where he notably executed a blindfolded slam. He finished second behind forward Jeremy Evans. His NBA career lasted four more years after that night with ups and down (with Minnesota, Indiana and Phoenix) bust mostly positive. After that Budinger went overseas, playing for Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz in Spain for the 2016-17 season. As the games ended, he had another decision to make.
DECISION Budinger’s basketball career was on its last legs in 2017. He spoke with his wife and his parents. His agent offered all the basketball details — which European teams he could play for or which NBA teams might be interested if a spot opened midseason. Budinger said everyone was supportive of it being his own decision. “That lifestyle became something I simply didn’t want to live anymore”.
NEW CHAPTER Budinger – a tall, blond, California cliché – he’s eager to have become a rare human who has logged minutes in the NBA and competed in the Olympics in a sport other than basket. When Beach Volley US team named him for Paris 2024, he felt deeply happy: “Don’t get me wrong, I miss basketball, it was such a big part of my life for so long. But I’ve kind of put that part of my life away and started this new chapter.”
Someone would say Budinger is a far better volleyball player than a basketball one. He doesn’t’ care much. He knew back then a professional career in basketball, would guarantee him the financial security beach volley never does.
“Most guys, when they finish a sport, they’re kind of confused, or they’re kind of lost for the next journey – Budinger claims -. I was lucky enough to just transition into a different sport immediately and play at the highest level.”
Since the transition in 2018 he was named the rookie of the year and most improved player of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), the biggest and longest-running beach volleyball tour in the US. The following season, he won his first pro title.
HISTORY Before Budinger, there was Jud Buechler, Arizona’s volleyball‑basketball dynamo. After playing both sports all four years at Arizona, he entered the NBA as a second-round pick and emerged as a valuable three-point shooter on Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.
Before Buechler, there was Keith Erickson – a tall, SoCal kid who helped UCLA to repeat national college basketball titles while representing USA Volleyball in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics (in fact, Erickson’s scholarship was split between the basketball and baseball teams). He went on to play 12 NBA seasons, winning a championship with Los Angeles Lakers in 1972. UCLA’s John Wooden, one of the greatest basketball coaches in history, called Erickson the “finest athlete”.
None of them could aim at the Olympic title, though. Teaming up with six-year pro Miles Evans, Budinger, has probably the chance of his life here in Paris, winning a gold medal Americans haven’t won in beach volley Beijing 2008.
“I don’t feel the pressure – says Chase – this is my profession. This is my job. And I am having a lot of fun”
Credit: AIPS Media
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