Chase Budinger was a pro basketball player and NBA player. Now that he’s in the Olympics he’s playing a completely different game CNN

Paris
CNN
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Chase Budinger is used to playing in packed stadiums, but never this one.

The former basketball player, who spent seven years in the NBA with four different teams, now finds himself in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, competing at the Olympics in a completely different sport.

Budinger is a beach soccer pro these days, and along with Team USA teammate Miles Evans, hopes to make a deep run at the Paris Games.

“It’s been great, it’s been great,” Budinger told reporters of her Olympic experience so far. “It’s been amazing to have so much support every game, we’re playing under the Eiffel Tower – the place is electric.

“I try to take it all day by day and enjoy the experience and the moment because our journey to get here was a long, scary and difficult road.”

Currently, the two are down but not out of the beach soccer competition at the Paris Olympics. A straight defeat against Spain on Friday sees them finish third in the group and now hope to progress as the third-placed team or with a “lucky” game.

With games to be won ahead, the stakes are high and the nerves are high, even for a man used to playing in one of the biggest sports leagues in the world.

“This adds a little bit of pressure just because it’s a little bit more competitive,” Budinger said. “It’s just a few games whereas in the NBA, you get 82-plus games in a full season.

“There is a good atmosphere out here. The crowd really gets behind you and screams and screams, and it feels good but it also gets those nerves in you. ”

Budinger grew up in California playing basketball and beach volleyball, but eventually decided to focus on the former when he started at the University of Arizona.

Drafted by the Detroit Pistons in 2009, he went on to play over 400 NBA games with the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns. A short stint in Spain followed, after which Budinger decided to quit basketball and returned to beach volleyball, making his debut in 2018.

“It was always my plan if my body was healthy after my basketball career to return to beach volleyball because I knew that you can play until the age of 40 and late 30s,” says Budinger, now 36.

It is very easy on your body. Actually, I didn’t plan to try for the Olympics, but since I was able to make the transition at a younger age than I thought, I said, ‘Why not?’ Let’s take it.’”

She and Evans shared a grueling journey just to qualify for the Olympics, playing 11 tournaments around the world in 14 weeks before earning a spot on the US team. If anything, that experience has only served to strengthen a partnership that has continued to grow stronger since last year.

“Chase brings a level of professionalism that I’ve never had with my colleagues, and I think we have,” said Evans, 34. the system is very good when we play well.”

Both men are making their first Olympic appearance, and Budinger is the first person to play in the NBA and appear in the Games in beach volleyball, according to NBC.

The two disciplines may seem separate when it comes to status, rewards, and viewing figures, but the similarities are clear: both require a unique combination of athleticism, height and eye coordination, while the understanding shared with your colleagues is also important.

At six-foot-seven, it’s perhaps no surprise that Budinger found both houses. But he also draws on his NBA experience on the beach volleyball court, especially when it comes to dealing with pressure.

“I try to use techniques and techniques to breathe and calm the mind as much as I can – use those basketball experiences of playing on big courts,” says Budinger. “The breathing techniques try to be as calm as possible because sometimes it can go on, your heart rate goes up, and that’s when your game starts to go down.”

Against Spain’s Pablo Herrera and Adrián Gavira, who have been playing together since Budinger was drafted into the NBA, the American duo was solidly organized before the second round, dropping 21 -18, 21 -11.

“We played crazy, they played well,” was Budinger’s scathing assessment of the game. “That sums it up right there.”

The Netherlands’ next win against France means Budinger and Evans will remain in contention, they may just need to overcome a “lucky” game on Saturday.

To be at their best, sometimes it helps to remember the journey they took to get to where they are: on the rectangle of sand at the base of the Eiffel Tower.

“The hard work we put in to get here was harder than playing in this tournament,” Budinger said. “Sometimes we forget that when we go into these games.”