Where did Chase Budinger play college basketball? Exploring former NBA player's stats, records and more

Former Arizona standout and NBA veteran Chase Budinger made sporting headlines on Wednesday as he and partner Miles Evans made it to the 2024 Paris Olympics for the U.S. men's beach volleyball team. The two are tied for 13th place in the latest world rankings, with the team sitting second in the U.S. team rankings behind world No. 5 Miles Partain and Andy Benesh, as per ESPN.

From July 26 to August 11, the former NBA All-Star and McDonald's Slam Dunk contestant will become the only person to have played a regular-season NBA game and Olympic beach volleyball.

---

Chase Budinger played college hoops in Arizona

The six-foot-seven Encinitas native played three seasons with the Pac-12 powerhouse Arizona Wildcats in college. He started for 100 games and averaged 17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Budinger had a phenomenal junior year, where he tallied 18.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 spg and 0.5 bpg while averaging 37.6 minutes of court time. He shot 48% in his third season, including 39.9% from the three-point line.

After his third season with the Wildcats, Budinger enlisted himself in the 2009 NBA draft and was selected by the Detroit Pistons as the 44th overall pick but was traded to the Houston Rockets on draft night.

---

Chase Budinger was a solid contributor during his NBA stint

Chase Budinger played for Houston, Minnesota, Indiana, and Phoenix. He signed with the Brooklyn Nets in 2016 but was waived prior to the start of the regular season.

Chase Budinger was a steady contributor for the Rockets despite playing off the bench. He appeared in 74 games for Houston and averaged 8.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg and 1.2 apg in 20.1 minutes. His hard work paid off in his second year as he started 22 of 78 games with the Rockets, tallying 9.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg and 1.6 apg in 22.3 minutes.

Budinger was dealt to the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2012 and had a respectable three-year stint there, providing veteran leadership and solid offensive numbers.

In 2015, he was traded to Indiana and was waived in March 2016 after appearing in 49 games. Budinger signed with the Phoenix Suns days after and played 17 games.

He signed with the Brooklyn Nets in the 2016-17 offseason but failed to make the team's roster for the season opener and was waived after four preseason outings.

Budinger shifted to beach volleyball after playing one season with Baskonia, joining the AVP Tour in 2018. He previously teamed up with Sean Rosenthal, Casey Patterson and Evans, with whom he had success.

"Most guys, when they finish a sport, they're kind of confused, or they're kind of lost for the next journey," Budinger said on the "Sandcast volleyball" podcast in 2018. "I was lucky enough to just transition into a different sport immediately and play at the highest level."

The former Arizona star hopes to win a gold medal in the 2024 Olympics for Team USA, which would become the greatest achievement of his sporting career.