Budinger and Evans only spent 32 minutes with their toes in the sand. Not enough time to appreciate the view. Yet enough for others to appreciate the enormity of the moment.
Decades ago, a young Budinger created a dream board and placed the Olympic rings on it. A big dream, but as a dual-sport athlete, Budinger hadn’t specifically envisioned following in the NBA players’ footsteps on Team USA, nor representing his country in men’s volleyball. He just wanted to go to the Olympics. On Monday, he made history as the first athlete to play in the NBA and in an Olympic beach volleyball team.
At 36 and more than eight years removed from his last NBA appearance, Budinger’s dream scoreboard has become a reality.
“It definitely lived up to expectations,” Budinger said of his first Olympic moment. “That was absolutely incredible. Absolutely thrilling and the feeling out there is unreal.”
There is a lot of crossover between Budinger’s two passions. She still wears a tank top and shorts to the office, only now she can pair it with wrap shades. And the volleyball crowd loves big blocks just like NBA fans.
While Budinger wasn’t known as a towering rim protector in the league, he’s the 6-foot netminder on the beach. In the second set, when Budinger put one of the French players at the net to pull the Americans ahead 9-6, a man wearing a bucket hat with blue stars borrowed the celebration made famous by Dikembe Mutombo. NO NO NO!
Bundinger did not make such a bold appearance. Although it might have been fitting, after one of his four blocks for points, for Budinger to put his index finger to his lips as he and Evans spent the afternoon silencing the mostly pro-French crowd.
Budinger should understand the power of home advantage, and as he felt — not just heard — the cheers for the French duo of Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Youssef Krou, he knew the Americans were in hostile territory. And he liked it.
“It was so loud in there. The French fans really came out to support their team, [they] they were screaming,” Budinger said. He turned to Evans during the introduction of the French players and said: “Man, that’s a great feeling! I love playing against it and it brought back a lot of memories of going into NBA arenas and playing on the road.
Budinger played seven years in the NBA, mostly in an athletic type role off the bench. During the 2012 NBA all-star slam dunk contest, he jumped out of the movie “White Men Can’t Jump,” dressed as Woody Harrelson’s character and leaping over rapper Sean Combs. (If he had a time machine, he would definitely go back and pick any other human to jump.) In the 2016-17 season, Budinger went to Spain to extend his career. But after a year abroad, he thought about his future. More specifically his future in volleyball.
“I knew this was the path I wanted to take, but I remember wondering if it was the right decision at the time I quit basketball,” Budinger said. “Am I doing the right thing for myself? But after a sweltering three weeks,” he said, “I kind of changed my mind.”
Budinger didn’t treat the beach as a hobby in his retirement. He traveled the world for competitions, sought out Evans as a partner and trained five times a week. All for the goal of making the Olympic Games. Along the way, he has won the admiration of his former colleagues.
Evans posted a video of members of the Team USA men’s basketball team greeting Buddinger before the Opening Ceremonies on Friday.
“Congratulations! I’ve been paying attention. I’ve been watching,” LeBron James can be heard telling Budinger in the video.
After Monday’s match, the French team’s Gauthier-Rat expressed admiration for how Budinger made the transition from the hardwood to the sand.
“Great respect,” Gauthier-Rat said. “I don’t know if it has to do with his NBA experience, but from my perspective, he was the only player who was full on the floor. The other three, his partner and the two of us, were more stressed and under more pressure. He was more relaxed… and that made the difference.”
His basketball past may have taught Budinger to keep a calm face, but he admitted to feeling “total nerves” just like he did before his NBA debut. However, after the court announcer introduced Budinger as the American player who was “making history”, he and Evans combined seamlessly as they cruised to a two-set victory. Next race, Budinger knows, he’ll have to try to slow it down a bit and enjoy his dream.
“I felt like it went too fast,” Budinger said. “I felt like there were moments where I should have enjoyed the view a little more, or maybe the timeouts could have been a little longer for us to enjoy it.”