Former Wildcat, NBA player Chase Budinger to play beach volleyball for Team USA in Olympics

Chase Budinger is Olympic-bound.

The former Arizona basketball star and NBA player, who became a professional beach volleyball player in 2018, punched his ticket to the Olympics in Paris this summer and will represent Team USA’s beach volleyball team.

The 36-year-old Budinger and playing partner Miles Evans were added to the Olympics roster on Wednesday. Budinger and Evans are currently ranked as the 13th-best men’s beach volleyball duo in the world, according to FIVB’s rankings; they’re ranked behind U.S. teammates Miles Partain and Andy Benesh — the No. 5 group in the world.

In a video posted by Tape Media on Instagram, Budinger and Evans discovered the news together and celebrated. Upon discovering their spots on the U.S. Olympic team, Budinger FaceTimed his wife, Jessica, and said, “We’re going to Paris! It’s official! You can start planning now.” Chase and Jessica Budinger have a two-year-old son, Beckham Budinger.

Playing for Team USA’s beach volleyball team in the Olympics has “always been one of my top goals,” Budinger told the Star in 2022.

“One of my goals that I set, when I first started playing beach volleyball, was making the Olympics, so I’ve gone through a two-year period of international tournaments, where you travel and get points if you do well,” Budinger said then.

Budinger was a standout volleyball player at La Costa Canyon High School in Encinitas, California, just outside of San Diego, and was named National Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine in 2006. Budinger led La Costa Canyon to three California state indoor volleyball championships. However, the 6-7 Budinger was a five-star basketball recruit and signed with the Arizona Wildcats to play for late coaching icon Lute Olson.

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Budinger was runner-up for the McDonald’s All-American slam dunk contest, and he earned co-MVP honors for the game along with NBA star Kevin Durant, who will play for Team USA’s basketball team in the Olympics.

At Arizona, Budinger averaged 17 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 100 games over three seasons at Arizona. Budinger’s freshman season was under Olson, then the following two were under interim head coaches Kevin O’Neill and Russ Pennell after Olson stepped away from his coaching post before ultimately retiring.

“He was a coach that always gave you confidence,” Budinger said of Olson. “He didn’t speak a ton, but when he did speak, he was very direct and to the point. Mostly what he had was good knowledge with whatever he was saying. He was all about the basics and teaching you how to play the right way. But it was always that confidence he gave you. He always instilled that in me as a player.”

Added Budinger: “I had an unbelievable time at Arizona for my college experience. I made some of my best friends that I still have today, some great teammates, and it’s something that I’ll never want to pass up on. The only downfall is that I didn’t have Lute Olson for my whole career (before he retired). I only got him for my first full year, and I really do believe that if I had him for all three years, I probably could’ve been a better NBA player than what I was. That’s how much I loved and appreciated how good Lute Olson was as a coach.”

After leading Arizona to the Sweet 16, alongside forward Jordan Hill and point guard Nic Wise, Budinger was drafted 44th overall by the Houston Rockets in the 2009. Budinger played eight seasons in the NBA with the Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and the Phoenix Suns. In 407 NBA games, Budinger averaged 7.9 points and three rebounds per game. Budinger played one season overseas in Spain, before dedicating his athletic career to professional volleyball. Budinger has played in several events on the AVP Tour with former partners Sean Rosenthal and Casey Patterson.

“This was kind of always the plan to continue to play beach volleyball when I was done with basketball, as long as my body was still healthy and take the grind of it,” Budinger said. “This was the plan, and one of those things that helped me make the decision was seeing these guys who have been playing for so long. They’re playing at their highest when they’re 40 years old or in their high 30s. I wanted to continue this career and I know I can play beach volleyball for another eight years and not take that grind I was taking on my body.”

The Olympics beach volleyball schedule is slated to start on July 27 in Paris.