Former NBA player Chase Budinger had a dream Olympics debut, in beach volleyball.
Budinger played seven NBA seasons with the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, and Phoenix Suns, earning $18.4 million during his NBA career. He performed a blindfolded slam during the 2012 NBA dunk contest.
He transitioned to beach volleyball after retiring from basketball because of injuries.
Despite initial doubts, Budinger pursued his dream of competing in the Olympics and won a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour title in China securing a spot in Paris 2024 with his partner Miles Evans and their Brazilian coach Dan Waineraich.
36-year-old, Budinger made his Olympic debut showcasing his basketball-related skills like blocks and spikes. He used his 6-foot-7 frame to dominate the net.
Together with Evans, a homegrown beach volleyball player from Santa Barbara, he defeated the top French team in straight sets..
The Americans snapped a three-match losing streak against the French team, maintaining their momentum and executing their game plan effectively for a strong start in just 32 minutes.
Budinger started playing beach volleyball as a teen, often playing at Moonlight State Beach. In 2018, he switched to playing in the Association of Volleyball Professionals League.
He is the first man to play in both the NBA and Olympic beach volleyball.
Sources: Washington Post, Axios , NBC News, USA Today, New York Post, The Straits Times, Estadão, Noticias Villaguay, Olympics, Unique News Online, Essentially Sports, Il Messaggero, Chat Sports, Noozhawk, Basketball Forever, Inquirer, One Sports, BeritaSatu, Latestly, Devdiscourse, 12 News.
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
