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Olympic beach volleyball run ends for former Timberwolves player Chase Budinger

Budinger and partner Miles Evans lost to the No. 1 duo in the world.
Will Ragatz|
Aug 2, 2024; Paris, France; Chase Budinger (USA) sets in a match against Spain during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Eiffel Tower Stadium.
Aug 2, 2024; Paris, France; Chase Budinger (USA) sets in a match against Spain during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Eiffel Tower Stadium. | Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

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Minnesota Timberwolves

Former Timberwolves player Chase Budinger's run in the beach volleyball competition at the Paris Olympics came to an end on Monday.

Budinger and teammate Miles Evans lost to the No. 1 team in the world, Norway's Anders Mol and Christian Sorum, in straight sets: 21-16 and 21-14. They gave it their all against Mol and Sorum, who won gold at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the Beach Volleyball World Championships in Rome in 2022.

Budinger and Evans finished tied for ninth in the competition. They won their group stage opener against France, then lost to the Netherlands and Spain. The American duo was able to beat Australia in a "lucky loser" match to become the last team to qualify for the round of 16. Ultimately, their run came to an end against the famous Norway duo, who haven't lost a set through four matches in these Olympics.

If you're unfamiliar with Budinger's story, it's an impressive one. He was a high school volleyball and basketball star in Southern California — he was hoops teammates with Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell — who eventually put volleyball on hold to play basketball at the University of Arizona. Budinger was selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA Draft and spent seven seasons in the league, playing for four teams. He appeared in 407 NBA games, 131 of which came in a Timberwolves uniform from 2012-15.

After his basketball career ended, Budinger picked up beach volleyball in 2018 and wound up making it all the way to these Olympic Games. He's the first person to ever play in an NBA regular season game and an Olympic beach volleyball match, which is a pretty cool distinction to hold. It seems unlikely that Budinger, 36, will participate in the Los Angeles Olympics when they roll around in 2028.

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Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

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