Former Timberwolves player Chase Budinger wins Olympic beach volleyball debut

Budinger and partner Miles Evans are 1-0 in the Paris Olympics.

Portrait of Chase Budinger taken on June 19, 2024. Budinger is a former collegiate and NBA basketball player who has made the Olympic Beach Volleyball Team. / Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK

Former Timberwolves wing Chase Budinger won his debut Olympic beach volleyball match on Monday in Paris. Budinger and partner Miles Evans beat French pair Youssef Krou and Arnaud Gauthier-Rat in two sets, 21-14 and 21-11. They're now 1-0 in Group F, with their next match coming against the Netherlands on Tuesday. Budinger and Evans will wrap up group play against Spain on Friday.

A man of many talents!

Alongside partner Miles Evans, former NBA player @CBudinger wins his first-ever Olympic beach volleyball match! 🏐#ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/4RUyrGKA5z

— Team USA (@TeamUSA) July 29, 2024

Budinger's story is pretty remarkable. He was the national volleyball player of the year in 2006 at La Costa Canyon High School in Southern California. He was also a star on the basketball team, where he was teammates with Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell. Budinger was a five-star basketball recruit who was named co-MVP of the 2006 McDonald's All-American Game with a guy named Kevin Durant.

After putting volleyball on hold and starring at the University of Arizona for three years, Budinger was taken in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft. He spent seven seasons in the NBA, playing in 407 total games for the Rockets, Timberwolves, Pacers, and Suns. Budinger was with the Wolves from 2012 until 2015, appearing in 131 games with 13 starts. He also competed in the 2012 slam dunk contest while with the Rockets.

Budinger played one season with a Spanish basketball club, then announced his retirement from the sport in 2017. In doing so, he turned his focus to beach volleyball. Budinger made his AVP tour debut in 2018 and now, six years later, he's an Olympian. The 36-year-old is the first person ever to play in an NBA regular season game and an Olympic beach volleyball match.

Look at Chase Budinger, man 🏀🏐 pic.twitter.com/cmjGhRtWMy

— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) July 29, 2024

Budinger and Evans are off to a strong start. Hopefully they can advance out of the group stage.