Former NBA player Chase Budinger's time at the 2024 Paris Olympics was cut short after he and his partner Miles Evans were bounced from the beach volleyball competition after losing in the Round of 16. The American tandem lost on Monday to the defending gold medalists from the Tokyo Games, Anders Mol and Christian Sorum from Norway, in straight sets, 21-16, 21-14.
Budinger's Olympic journey grabbed attention as he's more known as a professional basketball player who was selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft. He spent the first three years of his career with the Houston Rockets before getting traded to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012. From there, Budinger bounced around with a couple of teams, including the Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns, before retiring from basketball in 2017. Prior to his time in the NBA, and one year playing overseas in Spain, Budinger was also an indoor volleyball player in high school.
"Playing in the Olympics, playing in this venue, will definitely be up there with some of my greatest basketball moments, for sure," Budinger said after the loss on Monday. "My first couple of matches, stepping onto the court with 12,000 people cheering ... it was just an incredible atmosphere. Playing underneath the lights, underneath the Eiffel Tower, which was sparkling -- you can't replicate these type of memories that we'll have."
He and Evans joined forces with the goal of making the 2024 Olympics, and while it was a difficult journey, the two qualified after rising high enough in the points rankings in June. Budinger and Evans started their Olympic journey by winning their first match against a French duo, but then lost their following two games in straight sets to teams from Netherlands and Spain.
They needed a win in the "lucky losers" round to advance to the Round of 16, and they got just that after beating a team from Australia in straight sets. But it was clear Mol and Sorum were too much for Budinger and Evans, as the defending champions comfortably won both sets.
Meanwhile, another American men's beach volleyball tandem, Miles Partain and Andrew Benesh, defeated Italy's Samuele Cottafava and Paolo Nicolai 21-17, 21-18 in straight sets on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals.
While Budinger's time in Paris is over, he's not entirely ruling out a return to beach volleyball with an eye toward the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.
"I'll be old as dirt," Budinger said. "I've always said it's really up to my body. And I take it year by year of how my body's feeling. Right now, I can say my body's been feeling great."
Budinger would be 40 by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Games rolled around, and if he were to qualify, he would certainly have the support of the local fans. Four years from now, the Olympics in L.A. will take place close to his hometown of Carlsbad, Calif., and the site expected to hold the beach volleyball competition will be in Santa Monica.
