Ex-NBA player Chase Budinger earns first Olympic beach volleyball win after career makeover

Chase Budinger’s second act has begun.

The former NBA player kicked off his first Olympics beach volleyball match with a win alongside teammate Miles Evans on Monday.

The pair beat the French duo of Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Youssef Krou in two sets, 21-14, 21-11 in the Pool F match.

His basketball roots — which include seven NBA seasons — were evident in the match, making the blocked shots and spikes look easy with his 6-foot-7 frame.

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Budinger, 36, averaged 7.9 points and three rebounds per game throughout an NBA career that was cut short by injuries.

He was the No. 44 overall pick in the 2009 draft by the Houston Rockets, who he played for through 2012.

Budinger also had a stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves (2012-15) and split his final stateside season between Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns in 2015-16 before playing a year in Spain.

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In 2006, he was named co-MVP with Kevin Durant in the McDonald’s All-American game.

Budinger isn’t new to the sport — he lead California’s La Costa Canyon High School to three titles — but opted to pursue basketball at the University of Arizona.

He connected with two-time beach volleyball Olympian Sean Rosenthal after the NBA to kickstart the new chapter.

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“It’s been such a whirlwind,” Budinger told The Ringer’s Mirin Fader regarding his career switch. “It’s crazy to think about because the first part of my life was all basketball. And that’s where my focus was for so long.”

He posted a video on Instagram of him greeting his old NBA friends including Durant, Diana Taurasi, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James — all of whom Budinger said motivated him to get to the same Olympics.

“I’m gonna be paying attention,” James said in the video about tuning into Budinger’s Olympics run. “I’ll be watching!”

“Basketball is such a brotherhood,” Budinger told Fader. “… It definitely gave me some extra motivation to try to make it to the Olympics this year, knowing that KD’s playing in the Olympics for his fourth time. And Steph [Curry] [is] playing. And this is LeBron’s last time. I can’t wait to go watch them and cheer them on.”

Budinger and Evans will next take the sand on Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET against the Netherlands’ Stefan Boermans and Yorick de Groot.

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