Former NBA player Chase Budinger gets his Olympic dream in beach volleyball

PARIS – Cheers, jeers and raucous crowds were all in a day’s work for Chase Budinger, in an eight-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

And for 32 minutes on court at the Eiffel Tower Stadium on July 29, the 36-year-old American looked perfectly at ease as the partisan crowd roared their support for the local favourites.

But inside, Budinger was a bundle of nerves. It was his Olympic debut, and in a different sport – beach volleyball.

“I would compare playing in the Olympics for the first time to my first NBA game,” said Budinger, after he and his teammate Miles Evans sealed the 21-14, 21-11 victory against Frenchmen Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Youssef Krou.

“You’ve got ultimate nerves, the crowd is there, you’re shaking, you can’t really think straight. But you’ve just got to try to breathe and enjoy the experience because this is a game you know how to play, so we just had to settle ourselves down and get the job done.”

It was a lifelong dream realised for Budinger, who had the Olympic rings on a dream board he kept when he was younger.

Growing up in Encinitas, California, he showed talent in both volleyball and basketball, achieving success with La Costa Canyon High School in both sports.

Then, after a collegiate basketball career with the University of Arizona, he played for the Houston Rockets for three seasons from 2009 to 2012, before stints with Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns.

He then went to Spain in 2016 to play for Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia in the Euro League until injuries derailed his basketball career, prompting him to call time on the hardwood court.

But his competitive spirit remained and he thought of a possible return to volleyball – this time on the beach.

He started by playing pick-up beach volleyball in Hermosa in 2017, joining four-on-four tournaments, before making his Association of Volleyball Professionals debut a year later.

In 2023, he won a Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour title with Evans at the Haikou Challenge in China.

But he had doubts about his decision at the start.

Budinger said: “I knew this was the route I wanted to take, but I do remember asking myself if this was the right decision at the time of quitting basketball, something I’ve been doing for the last 13 years or however long it was.

“And to question myself was, ‘Am I doing the right thing for myself?’ After sulking for three weeks or whatever, I changed my mindset and said, I’m going to do this, I’m going to go all in.

“My ultimate goal is to make the Olympics, to work every day, grind as hard as I could.”

His experience in the NBA has helped his volleyball exploits and Evans noted how working with Budinger has changed his game.

Evans, 34, said: “This guy shows up to practise early all the time. He shows a great example for me – we have a really good structure, we practise five times a week.

“Before I was only practising two or three. At the end of the day, he brings a lot of his professionalism from the NBA.”

Now, Budinger is reaping the rewards of the past six years of labour and soaking in the experience at the Olympics.

He said: “When I switched sports, the main thing was to make the Olympics and I’ve said it from day one, this was the ultimate goal.

“It’s definitely lived up to expectations, it’s absolutely unbelievable and breathtaking.”