Like Team USA, Chase Budinger started his Olympic Games with a victory. However, the former basketball player no longer wears shoes in competition, he is barefoot since, as we know, he is now a beach volleyball player. And in Paris, the setting is superb: he plays near the Eiffel Tower.
“It took me six years. It took me a long time to finally reach my goal and be here at the Games. There is nothing better.”, does he deliver after his success against a French duo.
The former Rockets and Wolves player met up with his former colleagues in the capital. He was seen running into LeBron James, then Kevin Durant, with whom he was MVP of the McDonald's All-American Game.
“It was amazing to see the respect they have for him. I was like, 'Wow, this guy is really my partner?'”, notes Miles Evanshis teammate on the sand. “It took LeBron a few seconds”adds Chase Budinger. “He passed by, I shouted his name, he looked at me and was surprised to see me here.”
He didn't enjoy the Eiffel Tower enough
A way to make the link between his old and his new career. He also used his experience as an NBA player for this first Olympic meeting.
Because playing in the Games, in front of one of the most famous monuments in the world, is not nothing in terms of stress…
“On the bus before, I told Miles about my first NBA game, how nervous I was and how my nerves ruined my game. I went 0/2 on 3-pointers, turned over 2 balls and airballed one shot,” he remembers his October 2009 game against Portland, which ended with 6 points. “So I used my experience as a basketball player, playing in front of very large crowds, to be calm. It's definitely not like playing indoors.”
However, did he fully enjoy this moment, this magnificent setting? “It was everything I expected. It was incredible, breathtaking, and the feeling is surreal. I felt like it was going too fast. I felt like, at some points, I didn't enjoy the view enough.”
