After a seven-year NBA career, Chase Budinger has now reached the pinnacle of beach volleyball.
The 36-year-old California native and his partner, Miles Evans, officially clinched the final spot on the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball lineup for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Budinger and Evans passed Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb in the international rankings last month. When Brunner and Crabb lost their first match in the qualifying tournament on Wednesday, Budinger and Evans clinched the last spot for Team USA.
Since no more than two teams per nation per gender can qualify for the Olympics in beach volleyball, the four American duos are now set. It will be Kelly Cheng/Sara Hughes and Taryn Kloth/Kristen Nuss for the women, with Andy Benesh/Miles Partain and Budinger/Evans for the men. Budinger and Evans are the 13th-ranked beach volleyball duo in the world.
Budinger had a successful basketball career before this latest venture. He was a McDonald's All-American before being named Pac-10 Freshman of the Year in 2007 and First-Team All-Pac-10 in 2009 while playing for Arizona.
The Houston Rockets drafted Budinger at No. 44 overall in 2009 and he played seven seasons for four teams -- the Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns. He competed in the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest, finishing second to Jeremy Evans. The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 7.9 points and 3.0 rebounds over 407 career NBA games.
In 2017, Budinger retired from basketball and shifted his focus to beach volleyball. He was a "Volleyball Magazine" National Player of the Year in high school indoor volleyball, but he made his pro debut on the beach in 2018. Growing up in Encinitas, California, about 25 miles north of San Diego, allowed Budinger to play on the beach as a child.
Now, Budinger will become the first athlete to play both an NBA game and Olympic beach volleyball.
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