10 to watch: Beach volleyballer Chase Budinger wants to ‘shock the world’ at 2024 Olympics

HERMOSA BEACH, Calif. – Waves rolled in on a mostly peaceful day in Southern California in June, and the sun bathed the beach volleyball players.

They included Chase Budinger, a former NBA player, who was on the sand during practice and huddled with his partner, Miles Evans.

Budinger dropped a few F-bombs and later chuckled when asked about the moment.

“I think a lot of players who have played with me could say I could be hard on them," Budinger, 36, told USA TODAY Sports. “I expect so much out of myself. I also expect so much out of my partner.”

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He offers no apologies. Why would he now that Budinger and Evans will compete in beach volleyball at the 2024 Paris Games.

In the offseason during his seven-year NBA career, Budinger said, he played beach volleyball with NBA stars such as Steve Nash, an eight-time All-Star, and Blake Griffin, a six-time All-Star. Now the 6-foot-7 Budinger, who was a small forward on the basketball court and is a blocker on the volleyball court, will be playing against the world’s best at the Olympics.

Which was the plan all along, he said.

He grew up in Southern California and developed into a high school All-American in volleyball and basketball. Though he gave up volleyball to pursue a career in basketball, Budinger said he always planned to resume his volleyball career once his basketball career ended.

“It’s been pretty cool of a journey," he said.

Chase Budinger draws on NBA career

Budinger played for three seasons at Arizona before declaring for the 2009 NBA Draft. The Detroit Pistons picked him in the second round, 44th overall, and immediately traded him to the Houston Rockets, where he developed an important relationship.

He met Shane Battier, the former Duke star who then was a nine-year NBA veteran.

“He kind of took me under his wing and just showed me the ropes of how a professional should be," Budinger said. “Just learning tendencies and learning game planning. Learning weaknesses and strengths of a player and trying to use that against them. Just being the ultimate professional, which is basically what he taught me how to be."

Battier said he knew Budinger had a special makeup.

"He had obvious physical skills,'' Battier said. "Could jump out of the gym, had a great jump shot, but he always wanted to learn and was open to know how to make it to the top.

"I love playing with young guys like that. And so it was easy for me to say, "Hey, man. I know everything, but I know a few things.' "

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Budinger said he embraced what he learned from Battier during an NBA career that included stints with the Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Phoenix Suns. He averaged 7.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists and, according to Spotrac, earned about $18 million as an NBA player.

When he left the NBA, Budinger said, he took what he learned from Battier to the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), the pro beach volleyball tour he joined in 2018.

“One thing that I always tried to take into my volleyball career was my work ethic that I had in basketball," said Budinger, who listed film study and weight training as important. “I wanted to translate it into my beach volleyball training and definitely instill that with every partner that I was with. …

“It was tough on some of my early partners just because those guys were old veterans. They'd been playing for so long and they were kind of set in their ways."

How Chase Budinger, Miles Evans forged partnership

Two years ago, Budinger still was looking for the right partner. So was Evans, and they met at a coffee shop and talked about their shared goal of qualifying for the Olympics.

“When we started chatting, I kinda told him how I wanted to do things or how I saw this journey would go and to get his feedback," Budinger said. “And his enthusiasm and his just pretty much being all into it really just gave me the confidence that this is the guy I want to play with."

Evans, 34, still expresses enthusiasm for the relationship, despite the occasional F-bombs.

“He really keeps me accountable and he does a really good job of keeping himself accountable," Evans told USA TODAY Sports. “And that’s a great thing between our partnership that I’ve understood from Day 1, is accountability is everything to him.”

They have adopted a system that creates more opportunities for Budinger on offense. It allows Budinger to strike on the second touch rather than waiting on the third touch.

While Budinger often is stoic, Evans is loose. For example, Evans brought a small portable stereo to practice and cranked up his playlist.

“We have a good balance and we have a good flow," Evans said.

Ranked fourth among American teams in 2023, the duo surged this year and are one of two U.S. men’s team to make the Olympics. They’re ranked 13th in the world.

In Paris, Budinger said, he will be joined by his wife, Jessica, and their 2-year-old son, Beckham.

Anything big planned?

“Hey," Budinger said, “why not shock the world and go get a medal?"