From the NBA Hardwood to Olympics Sand

BY Andrew Polaniecki

What does it take to become a professional basketball player? If you were to ask the 500-plus NBA players each season, their answers might vary, but the core themes would remain the same: hard work, determination, and an unwavering commitment to chasing their dream. But what does it take to transition from professional basketball to competing in the Olympics – in a completely different sport? Only one person in the world can truly answer that: Chase Budinger. A seven-year NBA veteran, Budinger represented the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, not on the men’s basketball team, but as a beach volleyball player.

Though basketball was Budinger’s first love, volleyball was in his family’s DNA. His sister, Brittanie, played for the University of San Francisco before going on to compete professionally in Europe, while his brother, Duncan, also became a professional volleyball player. At La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad, Calif., Budinger made a name for himself in both basketball and volleyball. As a senior, he led his volleyball team to three state championships and was named National Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine.

As offers from universities poured in, Budinger faced a difficult decision: Should he pursue his first dream of becoming an NBA player or continue splitting his time between basketball and volleyball? Several schools offered him the opportunity to pursue both, but Budinger ultimately chose to focus exclusively on basketball and committed to the University of Arizona.

“I chose Arizona over UCLA and UNC, mainly because I just fell in love with Lute Olson. I knew they had a spot open for me, so I knew I could start or begin playing right away,” Budinger explained. “I fell in love with the campus, and the school, and the atmosphere that they had, and just how special of a basketball program that it was. I just wanted to focus on one sport and not get distracted [by] being a multi-sport athlete in college.”

Budinger had a breakout season for the Wildcats during his freshman year, averaging 15.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. His performance on the court led many to believe that Budinger was ready for the NBA, and he was projected to be a mid-first-round draft pick. Ultimately, however, Budinger decided to withdraw from the draft on the final day and return to Arizona.

“I felt like I wasn’t ready for the NBA yet. I was still pretty immature,” Budinger said. “I felt like I still had a lot of things I needed to polish up on my game to get to the next level and be ready to play right away.”

Budinger played two more seasons at Arizona, successfully refining his all-around game. He consistently improved, averaging 18 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists by his final season. With the strides Budinger made during his sophomore and junior years, he decided it was the right time to enter the NBA and entered the 2009 NBA Draft.

Unfortunately, draft night didn’t go according to his plan, as he fell to the No. 44 overall pick, getting selected by the Detroit Pistons, who promptly traded him to the Houston Rockets. When Budinger finally heard his name called, his lifelong dream was realized, even if it didn’t play out as he’d always hoped.

“I was happy to hear my name called, but I definitely felt I should have been a first rounder,” he said. “I had an amazing college career. I felt like I was ready to play in the NBA.“

Budinger’s disappointment from slipping in the draft quickly dissipated thanks to the draft-night trade that sent him to Houston. There, he would have the opportunity to join the talented trio of Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady, and Shane Battier.

“I was very excited.” Budinger said. “They were a very established team, and I knew (Houston) was a great sports town with great basketball culture.”

Upon his arrival at training camp, Battier immediately took Budinger under his wing.

“Shane Battier was such a huge mentor to me,” he said. “He was a guy who was a great starter, knew the NBA well, and he really just taught me how to be a professional and take every game one step at a time, one game at a time. He taught me how to use analytics to help you guard certain players, how to learn to get over your shooting slumps, and to not get too wrapped into the NBA season because it might drain you… He helped me out tremendously early on.”

After the 2012 season, Budinger was traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves, where he enjoyed a three-year stint. Following the 2014-15 season, the Timberwolves traded him to the Indiana Pacers. Budinger played 49 games for the Pacers before being waived with one month remaining in the season. Just three days later, he was signed by the Phoenix Suns to finish out the season and, ultimately, his NBA career. After one final professional basketball season overseas in Spain, Budinger retired from the sport of basketball to pursue his second passion: professional volleyball.

While most newly retired basketball players are looking for new hobbies and ways to keep busy, Chase had other plans.

“It was always the plan for me to come back home and try out beach volleyball, but I didn’t know at what level that would be,” he explained. “Maybe I thought just playing domestically, playing at home in the AVP… But when I decided to make the switch, I was still pretty young, especially for beach volleyball. I still felt that I had plenty of athletic ability left in me. Because of that, I just dove into the new journey and goal of mine of wanting to make the Olympics. I didn’t know how long this journey could take… But I definitely made it a goal of mine right away like, ‘Alright, now that I’m making this switch, this is my new goal and I’m putting everything I can into it to get to the Olympics.’”

Budinger was a star volleyball player in high school, but his previous achievements were on indoor courts. Transitioning from the hard surfaces of indoor volleyball to the soft and often hot sand of beach volleyball presented a new challenge.

“In beach volleyball, the biggest transition is dealing with the elements,” Budinger said. “Every tournament that you go to is slightly different. Some tournaments might be super windy, so you have to learn to play in the wind. Some tournaments might be super hot and humid, so you got to deal with that. It might be raining in some tournaments. Some tournaments, you have to deal with shallow sand or super deep sand. So, every element that you get in beach volleyball you have to adapt to and evolve your game to that tournament, and that’s what makes the sport really cool and interesting because every tournament is a little different. Every tournament has some different aspect to it, whereas indoor volleyball everything is the same.”

While casual observers might assume that Budinger’s height gives him a huge advantage in volleyball, he attributes his success to other factors from his basketball days.

“My height definitely helped but when you’re playing against the top teams in the world, I’m considered medium height as far as a blocker,” Budinger said. “I give a lot of credit to my work ethic and my professionalism that I had in basketball. I really translated it over to my volleyball. Everyone who talks about beach volleyball, the biggest thing they talk about is that it’s a lifestyle. Sometimes people get too sucked into a lifestyle where it’s kind of laid back, you go down to the beach, and you kind of half-ass the practice and play a match, and then you’re done with practice. I didn’t want to be like that. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to work my ass off. I’m going to train every day and take care of my body when I’m not training, and all these little aspects that I took from basketball.”

After years of preparation, training, and non-stop tournament play, the time had come for Budinger to select a partner for his quest to become an Olympian. After interviewing many talented candidates, he ultimately chose Miles Evans.

“Miles and I were competitors for five years. We played against each other a lot…” Chase explained. “Then, all of a sudden, it was probably a couple months before the Olympic qualifying period would start and I was searching for a partner who I wanted to pair up with. I was interviewing these guys and trying to choose who I wanted to make this journey with. I remember sitting down with Miles and hearing his enthusiasm, his all-in mentality, [and how] he wanted to go for it with me. Once I heard that from him, I was real excited to partner up with him.”

With his new partner in crime, qualifying for the Olympics was the next challenge for Chase and Miles.

“To qualify for the Olympics, you need to have 12 international finishes, and you have to be in the top 18 teams in the world, and (one of the) top two American teams,” he said. “The process was about a two-year period.”

The competition was steep, with little margin for error if Budinger and Evans were to realize their Olympic dreams.

“We had one American team who was in the top five the whole year.” Budinger said. “They were kind of solidified early on that they were the one team that was already going to go to the Olympics, so now the race was for the second American team. We had a really tight race with this other American team throughout the whole year. It was back and forth. We were mostly behind the whole time, and then we made a really late last push with our last four or five tournaments, pushing us over the edge to take and hold the lead over them.”

Once Chase and Miles qualified, the next stop was Paris to compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics. To kick things off, the Olympic Opening Ceremony took place on July 26. With 300,000 spectators in attendance and millions of viewers watching at home, Chase and the other athletes experienced the event from a different perspective as they were paraded by boat along the Seine to the Jardins du Trocadéro.

“The coolest part was just seeing all the athletes get together, all wearing the same U.S. outfits. We’re all gathered in this area and we’re all excited while wearing the same things,” Budinger said. “We’re all congratulating each other because we all are in this journey together.

“One of the coolest moments was finally seeing LeBron. He was pretty busy at the time when I saw him… talking in his room with some people, getting the flag ready for him because he was the flag bearer for us… He was walking by and hadn’t noticed me, but I called his name out. He kind of did a double take at me. He looked at me, and then he looked away, and then he realized who I was and was like, ‘Oh shit, Chase! What up?! Great to see you!’ And he gave me a big hug. That was a cool, special moment.”

Once the excitement of the opening ceremony faded, it was time for Chase and Miles to get to work. Their days were jam-packed from early morning until midnight, filled with workouts, film study, game-planning, practices, and afternoon competitions. Despite the intense routine as they prepared for the Olympics, there was one unexpected challenge: the athlete transportation system.

“Transportation was really rough. Every time we had to get on a bus, it was at least 45 minutes to an hour because of the traffic, because of stops, because of security…” Budinger said. “We were on buses three to five hours a day just trying to get to the arenas and back, and practice and back, or the weight room and back. We were just very busy with being on buses the whole time.”

Although Budinger and Evans fell short of winning their first Olympic medal after being defeated by defending gold medalists Anders Mol and Christian Sorum of Norway in the Round of 16, Budinger gained the respect of not only his competitors but also some familiar faces from his basketball days who admired his transition to a new sport. One of the most iconic behind-the-scenes moments from the Olympics was a video that surfaced showing Kevin Durant, Diana Taurasi, and other U.S. basketball players approaching Budinger after the Olympic games concluded. He earned their respect — not just as a former NBA player, but as an Olympian. That meant a lot to Budinger.

“Just the respect that you get from being in the NBA, there’s a mutual respect that we’ve had for each other just because we’ve known each other for so long,” he said. “KD and I go all the way back to high school where we used to battle against each other. We played on the same McDonald’s All-American team together, and it was just cool to see those guys and to be representing the United States together, but in different sports… It was really special to me.”

Since Budinger retired from professional basketball, his appreciation for the NBRPA’s support runs deeper than beach sand.

“They’ve always been reaching out and checking in on me, which has been really nice that I have their support always… It’s been great just knowing that if I ever need something from them, they’re willing to help out.”

What advice would Budinger give to players who are approaching retirement?

“For players that are retiring, I know it’s a very tough time in your life because I went through it. It’s a tough transition to give up the sport you’ve been playing your whole life… the Player’s Association is there to help with the transition. There are so many guys and ex-players there to help and lead you in the right direction of what you want to do next.”

So, what’s next for Chase? The 2028 Olympics are now less than four years away, and he is determined to return and try to win his first Olympic medal.

“It’s definitely a goal of mine now,” Budinger said. “After making the last Olympics and going through the whole experience, it just gives me more motivation to go for this next one. As long as my body is healthy, and my mind is right, I love this sport, I love this lifestyle, [so] I’m going to give it my all to make the next one.”

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