Former NBA Player Chase Budinger Wins in Paris 2024 Olympic Beach Volleyball Debut

Jakarta, Todaysgist.com – Chase Budinger will never forget how badly he performed in his first NBA game. But he will have fond memories of his 2024 Paris Olympics debut as a beach volleyball player.

The former Arizona professional basketball player and his partner Miles Evans on Monday (29/7/2024) managed to beat the host France to advance to the next round.

“I really tried to use my basketball experience in front of a big crowd to stay calm throughout the beach volleyball match,” Budinger said after winning 21-14, 21-11, as quoted from AP.

Budinger spent seven years in the NBA, mostly as a reserve for the Rockets and Timberwolves. He eventually switched to beach volleyball in pursuit of his Olympic dream. He still remembers his first NBA game.

“I played bad. I missed three-pointers, made two turnoverand one of my shots missed,” Budinger said.

After switching to beach volleyball, Budinger’s performances were more promising.

“It took me six years. It took a long time to finally achieve this goal and now I’m competing in the Olympics. There’s no better feeling than this,” Budinger said.

Budinger and Evans scored the first three points and never trailed in the first set. In the second set, France had a narrow 3-1 lead, but the match was eventually won by Budinger and Evans, representing the United States (US), in 32 minutes.