Chase Budinger to represent USA in Beach Volleyball in Paris Olympics 2024

Chase Budinger has scripted history with his latest achievement. The former NBA player bagged a spot to be in the Paris Olympics 2024 in the Beach Volleyball. With his partner Miles Evans, Budinger has managed to make it to the biggest Sports event. In the process, he became only the 2nd athlete to be a part of the NBA and represent a team in the Olympics.

In the Paris Olympics, Chase and Evans will represent the USA as the second-best team from the country. They are just behind the duo of Miles Partain and Andy Benesh. Budinger grew up in La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas, California. At the same university, he excelled as an athlete in Basketball and Volleyball. Chase had his vision clear for the future.

At a very young age, he showed promises of a great player. In 2006, Budinger was a part of McDonald's All-American in basketball. In 2005, the star player was a National High School Player of the Year for Volleyball Magazine. The 36-year-old spent three seasons with Arizona from 2006 to 2009. In this period, he learnt a lot about Basketball which led to him bagging an NBA contract.

Switch from Basketball to Volleyball

His stint was a great one as he averaged 17 points and claimed 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 100 games. In the NBA Draft in 2009, he was picked in the second round and played 407 games. The 6-foot 7-inch player represented teams like the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers, and Phoenix Suns in the league. He had decent numbers in the league.

Budinger averaged 7.9 points and had 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists. In Europe, he played a season of Volleyball and made a switch to AVP tour in 2018. In 1964, Keith Erickson was the first athlete to be a part of the NBA regular season and the Olympic Indoor Volleyball events. Chase has become the first former NBA player to be a part of Beach Volleyball in the Olympics.