Feb 18, 2023; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; The NBA logo on the court at Huntsman Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
An ex-NBA player is trading one net for another.
Justin Spears of the Tucson Star reported on Wednesday that former NBA forward Chase Budinger will be competing in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris. Budinger has qualified for the U.S. Olympic beach volleyball team and is thus officially headed to Paris with volleyball partner Miles Evans.
The 36-year-old Budinger was a second-round NBA draft pick in 2009 after a three-year college career at the University of Arizona. He played seven total NBA seasons for the Houston Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Indiana Pacers, and the Phoenix Suns. After a subsequent stint with Baskonia in Spain, Budinger retired from pro basketball in 2017 with NBA career averages of 7.9 points and 3.0 rebounds per game.
Since retiring from the hardwood, Budinger has been competing in volleyball, which he played in addition to basketball in high school. With good height for a volleyball player at 6-foot-7, Budinger debuted on the AVP tour in 2018 and has been working his way up ever since.
Here are some volleyball shots that Budinger has posted to his Instagram.
A trip to the Olympics is obviously a massive step for Budinger, who once even competed in the Slam Dunk Contest. Nearly a decade after he last played in the NBA, Budinger is now set to represent his country in the beach volleyball realm.
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