What An Athletic Arc: Chase Budinger Has Gone From College Star To NBA Player To Winning Volleyball Olympian

Once upon a time, Chase Budinger was a McDonald’s All-American basketball player who went on to dominate at the University of Arizona for three seasons. He put up an average of 17 points per game thanks to a well-rounded offensive skill set. In addition to being a proficient perimeter shooter, Budinger’s athleticism earned him a runner-up finish in the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest, where he narrowly lost to Jeremy Evans in a thrilling duel.

Although his time in the pros wasn’t as successful as what he did at Arizona, Budinger still lasted seven NBA seasons as a second-round pick. Not too shabby. But then, in the twist of all twists that actually makes sense given his leaping ability, he embarked upon a journey in professional beach volleyball. He retired from hoops in 2017, and some seven years later, he finds himself repping the USA in Paris’ 2024 Summer Olympics.

And not just merely representing. Budinger and his volleyball teammate Miles Evans knocked off the home team from France on Monday. Here’s a mere sampling of the highlights below.

Look at LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and all the Team USA hoopers who’ve congratulated Budinger for his improbable Olympic bid.

I’m sure the sand isn’t as rough on the knees as the hardwood, yet it’s still mind-blowing to see someone I saw tear up college hoops while I was a teen thriving at the highest level of a totally different sport at age 36 in the Olympics!

Ready for a throwback to end all throwbacks? In case you doubted how much of a walking bucket Budinger was back in his heyday, here he is sharing McDonald’s MVP honors with KD.

How far can Budinger and Evans go in Paris? If that first match is any indication, pretty far! I don’t pretend to know all the inner workings of men’s beach volleyball, but Budinger is a springy 6-foot-6 powerhouse who has clearly put in the work to get to this point.

Upon further review, Budinger actually had a volleyball background in high school, where he was the catalyst for not one, not two, but three state championships. Please enjoy some of his basketball highlights below. We might have ourselves a new Captain America.