Chase Budinger, former Timberwolves player, qualifies for Olympics in beach volleyball
MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minnesota Timberwolves player Chase Budinger will represent the United States during the Olympic games — but not as a basketball player. Instead, he's heading to Paris for beach volleyball.
Budinger and his partner Miles Evans locked in the last two U.S. men's spots after overtaking Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb in the rankings.
Budinger spent seven years in the NBA, which included a stint with the Wolves between 2012 and 2015. It was a particularly rough stretch in Wolves history — his last season with the team was the second-worst in franchise history — and he was eventually traded to the Indiana Pacers before retiring from the sport in 2017.
He made the switch to beach volleyball soon after. Budinger, who grew up in California, was a top volleyball athlete during his time in high school, but opted to play basketball at Arizona.
When he returned to the sand, he partnered with two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal during his first professional season, and was named Rookie of the Year by the AVP. Budinger, who is 6-foot-7, is a force at the net, and last year had the most terminal blocks during the AVP season.
Now he's looking to be one of the men's pairs who medals in Paris; USA Men's beach players haven't made it to the podium since 2008. Andy Benesh and Miles Partain — who are currently ranked higher than Budinger and Evans — will also represent U.S. men's beach volleyball.
On the women's side, pairs Kelly Cheng and Sara Hughes, along with Taryn Kloth and Kristen Nuss, will represent the U.S.