Video: Chase Budinger Wins Volleyball Championship Following USA Olympics, NBA Career
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVNovember 11, 2024
Former NBA forward Chase Budinger was victorious in the AVP's inaugural league championship.
Budinger and the San Diego Smash beat the Dallas Dream in Sunday's final. He was on the winning side along with Miles Evans, Geena Urango and Toni Rodriguez.
USAV Beach @USAVBeachStill thinking about the epic conclusion to the inaugural AVP League!<br><br>Toni Rodriguez, Geena Urango, Miles Evans and Chase Budinger (San Diego Smash) took it to the golden set and emerged as the winners of the first ever final 🏆 <a href="https://t.co/mccny15OzZ">pic.twitter.com/mccny15OzZ</a>
Set Point @Set_PointIEThe San Diego Smash are your first-ever AVP League Champions!<br><br>A kill by Chase Budinger gives the San Diego Smash the golden set 15-13 and the match over the Dallas Dream. The Smash win the first-ever AVP League Championship. What a way to close out. <a href="https://twitter.com/IESportsRadio?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IESportsRadio</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SoCalShowIESR?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SoCalShowIESR</a> <a href="https://t.co/LnCKPc4mQp">pic.twitter.com/LnCKPc4mQp</a>
It was a true team effort because a "Golden Set" determined the championship after the men's and women's teams from San Diego and Dallas were deadlocked after their encounters.
In the tiebreaker, the men and women alternate after one team scores eight points. The pair of Urango and Rodriguez had the Smash up 8-5 before handing things over to Budinger and Evans, who avenged their loss to the Dream's Miles Partain and Andy Benesh, per the Orange County Register's Elliott Teaford.
"It wasn't our day, but it was their day," Budinger said, referencing Urango and Rodriguez. "They played really well today, and they really helped us win this."
The 36-year-old continues to thrive on the sand after hanging up his basketball shoes.
Budinger was a highly decorated volleyball player in high school before focusing on basketball full time in college at Arizona. After spending seven seasons in the NBA and one playing abroad, he retired in 2017 in pursuit of a volleyball career.
His hard work paid off this summer when he and Evans qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. They advanced to the round of 16, where they lost to eventual bronze medal winners Anders Mol and Christian Sørum.