How Chase Budinger Made The Transition From NBA Star To 2024 Beach Volleyball Olympian

Chase Budinger at the 2018 AVP NYC Open / Mpu Dinani

Fans watching the 2024 Paris Olympics see a familiar face in Chase Budinger, but playing in a less-than-familiar arena on the sand. The NBA veteran made the switch to beach volleyball in 2018 after seven-year NBA career, focusing on making the Olympics in his first love, beach volleyball. 

Below is a 2018 interview I conducted with Budinger in New York City, just as he started on his Olympic journey. We discussed his transition, as well as how he was tested guarding LeBron James and Kevin Durant, both who have joined Budinger as 2024 Olympians.

Making The Switch

Entering this year’s AVP Gold Series in New York City, there was a big question mark as to whether Chase Budinger was truly ready to compete at the top tier of professional beach volleyball. Skeptics were weary of the 6’7″ California native, as he just returned to the sand this winter after capping a seven-year NBA career—as well as a season playing in Europe.

Spending the weekend playing alongside two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal, the pair came away with a fifth-place finish—led by Budinger flashing dominant stretches at the net both blocking and hitting.

“I had a good run,” Budinger said at the 2018 AVP Gold Series last weekend in New York City. “[I had] three great years at Arizona, seven years in the NBA, and one overseas professionally. This winter, I didn’t want to go back overseas, and pretty much Sean [Rosenthal] came calling. It was the right fit and the perfect timing for me to make the transition.”

For those inside of the volleyball community, Budinger’s prowess is of little surprise. He was one of the most lauded prep stars in California’s history. He was Volleyball Magazine’s 2006 National High School Player of the Year. However, he was also the co-MVP of the 2006 McDonald’s All-American basketball game alongside Kevin Durant. When it came time to choose a college, he could not resist Hall of Famer coach Lute Olson’s pitch to focus solely on basketball at the University of Arizona.

“I pretty much went to Arizona because of Lute Olson,” he said. “Looking at that team, I felt like I could play right away and he had high expectations for me. … My three final schools were Arizona, UCLA, and USC. If I chose the other two schools, I would have played both [sports] … At that time I pretty much put it in my head to get away from volleyball and focus on just basketball and see how far basketball could take me.”

Committing To Training

Once he committed to returning to his volleyball roots, Budinger leaned on Rosenthal’s two decades of professional beach volleyball experience for support. Training together for the past six months, Budinger has tried to soak up as much knowledge as he could while building their partnership.

“It has definitely been a learning curve for me,” he admits. “There has been a lot of learning on the fly just because it comes so quickly. We started in late January teaming up and practicing. For now, communicating is the biggest thing while working together at every practice just picking each other’s brain, me especially picking his brain.”

Even though it is early in the beach volleyball season, the duo are already showing signs that they will be a formidable team for the rest of the summer. At the first AVP stop in Austin, Texas, they lost both of their matches en route to a 13th-place finish. But just a few short weeks later in New York City, the pair had a breakthrough performance that put them within a few points of advancing to the semi-finals.

“Every tournament is going to be really helpful for us getting that game experience,” he said. “For me, it’s really just about repetitions and game experience. It seems like you play these guys over and over in the AVP. I am so new to these guys and they are to me, but eventually you’ll start getting some reads on these guys. Taking it all in, I knew this first year was going to be a lot ups and downs for me.”

In most professional sports leagues, a 30-year-old rookie would be far from prospect status. But in the world of beach volleyball, the top talents peak in their late 30s, with many competing well into their 40s. Budinger felt that he is right on time to make an impact on the tour.

“I want to play for a long time,” he said. “I think I started at a good time. I’m still young. Volleyball players can play for a long time in their 40s; that is at least another ten years for me. That is kind of the goal, to play for ten years. When I made the transition, I always knew that in the back of my mind that I wanted to go back to volleyball and the only way that I was going to permit it was if my body could hold up. I think I came here at a time when I am still athletic, still can jump, and still can play.”

Guarding The Greats

Budinger’s showing in New York City came on the heels of the Golden State Warriors winning the NBA championship. Playing as a small forward in the NBA, he had the daunting task of guarding both LeBron James and the aforementioned Kevin Durant. Taking a moment to reflect on how he approached defending both superstars, he explained the nearly impossible task of stopping them.

“They’re un-guardable,” he admitted. “I had to try to guard Kevin and LeBron. Those two guys are just unbelievable. Durant, the way he could handle the ball, it is just unreal for being 6’11”. His handle makes him everything, just how he could cross people up, get into the lane and get to his spots. Once he gets to his spots, all he needs to do is jump and shoot over you and you can’t do anything about it.

“LeBron is just a bully. If he knows that he’s bigger than you, he’s just going to bully you and you can’t do anything. That’s what happened to me.”

So, does Budinger’s experience of going up against arguably two of the best basketball players of his generation transfer to the volleyball court? He said it’s another world where facing those legends earn you no points on the sand.

“It’s different,” Budinger says. “I just put my basketball days back and enjoy the memories I had from them. Out here, the energy is completely different. I will take all of the work ethic and approach that I learned over the years [playing basketball] to this game. But as far as playing against those guys, it doesn’t mean anything here.”

 

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Kusnick And Perfect Game's Legal Battle Raises Questions About NIL Rights

The issue of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights has become a hot topic in the sports world, especially in collegiate athletics. However, the conversation around NIL rights is also gaining traction in youth sports, particularly concerning organizations like Perfect Game. Sports agent Josh Kusnick, who is ensnared in a lawsuit with Perfect Game, shed light on the pressing need for reform in a recent interview.

Perfect Game originally hired Kusnick to develop NFTs and consult for their expansion into trading cards and memorabilia. As talks soured, Kusnick went public with his dealings with Perfect Game. The amateur baseball giant sued Kusnick for defamation, claiming his statements affected their licensing deal with an immensely popular trading card maker. 

We've got a new lawsuit involving trading cards to talk about! It's...well...basically Perfect Game v. Joshua Kusnick...and it's a defamation/libel/slander lawsuit.

Who wants to do a (kinda) live-read of this?

(Kinda, because I skimmed it already) pic.twitter.com/DLM0q3Rusy

— Paul Lesko (@Paul_Lesko) June 13, 2024

 

Kusnick recently filed a motion to dismiss, with a lengthy 400-page document filled with revealing details he hopes will clear his name.

Conditional Participation and Inadequate Compensation

One of the most contentious issues is the conditional nature of participation in Perfect Game’s events. Kusnick highlighted Perfect Game forcing players to sign over their NIL rights as a prerequisite for participation. This practice not only exploits young athletes but also raises ethical concerns about commodifying children's talents.

"If you sign a permission slip and you go to a Perfect Game event, they can make stuff of your kid from that event,” Kusnick said. “So, like, if your kid's 12 and he becomes Mike Trout, they can make a card of him when he's, like, 12. They can make cards of 12-year-old you forever and not pay you for it."

Perfect Game NIL Release - Kusnick's Motion To Dismiss

The Value of Every Athlete

Kusnick stressed the importance of recognizing the value of every athlete, not just the elite performers. He challenged the notion that only standout athletes deserve compensation.

"Think about what that kid's worth to mom and dad, and that's what they're looking at,” he said. “Yes. And that's not me talking. No. I'm telling you; I was in those rooms. … The contributions of all athletes, regardless of their current skill level, are vital to the success of youth sports events. Recognizing and compensating these contributions is not just a legal obligation, but also an ethical imperative."

The Need for Reform and Transparency

As NIL rights gain recognition and legal backing, significant reforms are needed in youth sports organizations. Kusnick called for transparency and fair policies that compensate all athletes for their contributions.

"The absence of a robust NIL model in organizations like Perfect Game reflects a reluctance to adapt to the changing landscape,” he said. “The current approach, which requires athletes to sign over their NIL rights without compensation, is incompatible with the evolving legal and ethical standards of the sports industry."

Perfect Game’s Business Model: A Closer Look

Perfect Game's business model is another point of contention. According to Kusnick, the organization's revenues have historically come primarily from on-field tournaments. However, recent management shifts indicate a significantportion of their revenue now comes from other sources, such as merchandise and branding opportunities.

"When they took over, 95% of the business revenues came from the on-field tournaments, right?” he said. “That was the product and the model. Most of the money comes from the games, but then they started branching out.”

In Kusnick’s motion, he filed Perfect Game’s contract with Leaf, showing a $275,000 deal between the two companies for the trading card rights for Perfect Game’s events.

Leaf / Perfect Game Contract - Kusnick's Motion To Dismiss

As these young athletes help to generate additional revenue for Perfect Game, Kusnick feels this is a situation where these players can no longer allow Perfect Game to exploit their talents.

"If 35% of your revenues are not on-field tournaments and it's advertising, baseball cards, bat companies and all the other stuff that you're bragging, I'm sorry, what is that called, then?” he said. “Explain that to me like I'm stupid, like you described in the first sentence."

Potential Privacy Concerns

Another issue Kusnick brought up in his motion, as well as our conversation, was access to personal information. He explained how anyone can purchase Perfect Game's Scout level plan for $799.99/yr to gain contact information for all Perfect Game athletes. While this information might be useful for scouts, Kusnick alleged this access is unchecked without a screening process, allowing any person willing to pay the fee to have address and phone contact data. This little-known feature opens a major question about privacy concerns with how Perfect Game does or does not protect their data.

Perfect Game Scout Access / Kusnick's Motion To Dismiss

Embracing a Fair Future

The handling of NIL rights in youth sports is at a critical juncture. Kusnick’s hopes this legal battle pushes organizations like Perfect Game to adapt to the changing landscape and implement transparent and equitable NIL policies.

"This is not just a legal obligation but a step towards fostering a fair and respectful environment for all athletes,” he said. “Embracing these changes is essential for ensuring a just and equitable future in youth sports."

 

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DJ Mark The 45 King Exclusive Mix From The Formula Radio Show With DJ Groove Da Moast

DJ Groove Da Moast

We take a short break from the baseball happenings to salute two hip hop pioneers, DJ Mark The 45 King and DJ Groove Da Moast. Sadly, both DJs died within a week from each other in October 2023, but we have this gem from The Formula Radio Show archives connecting the two legends.

In February 2005, DJ Mark The 45 King was the show's featured guest, masterfully spinning exclusive tracks from his personal archives. 

DJ Groove Da Moast (aka Fredy Blast) followed The 45 King with a tribute set of his own, expertly mixing up 45 King's classics. DJ Skeme Richards and Primetime provide the commentary in between the mixes, giving you a slice of the hip hop landscape at the time. 

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Roger Craig, 93, Helmed The Mound For Both The Dodgers and Mets In New York

Roger Craig, the split-fingered fastball master, who was part of Brooklyn's only World Series championship in 1955, died June 4, 2023 at the age of 93. The 12-year major league veteran later became the long-time San Francisco Giants manager from 1985-1992.

Roger Craig Throws Out First Pitch In 2012 At Citi Field / Mets

I wrote the following piece below for Metsmerized Online after interviewing Craig when he returned to New York in 2012 to throw out the first pitch at Citi Field. He celebrated his 50th year as an "Original Met" and relished discussing his playing career in both Brooklyn and Queens.

Roger Craig holds a special place in New York baseball history lore, carrying the distinction of the first pitcher to take the mound for the New York Mets, as well as being a member of Brooklyn’s lone World Series championship team. At 89, Craig has outlasted nearly all of his peers that made the Brooklyn-heavy component of the 1962 Mets inaugural season.

Growing up in North Carolina, the lanky 6’4” pitcher faced a strong pull from another sport, basketball. He spent one year as a guard on North Carolina State’s freshman basketball team playing for the legendary Everett Case. While the opportunity to learn from a pioneer such as Case was tempting, it was not enough to compete with Brooklyn’s $6,000 bonus offer.

“I went to North Carolina State on a basketball scholarship,” Craig said. “When baseball season came around I talked to my dad [and told him] I wanted to drop out of school and play baseball and that is what happened. I dropped out and signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers.”

The Dodgers assigned Craig to their Class B team in Newport News to start the 1950 season. Still a teenager, Craig quickly discovered he was in well over his head.

“I was surprised they started me there,” he said. “That was a high way to start a young guy. I was 18 or 19. I started out in Newport News, and Al Campanis was the manager; I was really wild, and he sent me down to Valdosta, Georgia.”

With Craig in the modern day equivalent of rookie ball at Class D Valdosta, he was in the proper atmosphere for his skills to grow. Judging by how he explained it, his performance was far from perfect.

“I led the league in wins, strikeouts, base on balls, hit batsmen — everything,” he said.

While he was in Valdosta, Craig made the first of his Dodgers-Mets connections when he teamed up with a 20-year-old catcher named Joe Pignatano. He immediately noted the spark of his Brooklyn-born batterymate.

“Joe was a fiery competitor,” he said. “He went to the major leagues and became a great coach for a long time with the Mets.”

Before Craig could really mend his control as well as fortify his relationship with Pignatano, Uncle Sam arrived with a new uniform. The Army assigned him to a post in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where he stayed for two years (1952-53) while many of his peers went overseas to Korea.

“The military really helped me because I was a basketball and baseball player,” he said. “All of my buddies went to Korea, and I stayed there and played sports. I had three catchers [who helped me], Haywood Sullivan, Frank “Big” House, and Ed Bailey. They said, ‘Kid, you have good stuff and a chance to play in the big leagues.’ They helped me, worked with me, and gave me a lot of confidence. I think I was 17-2 and 16-1 in two years down there.”

Just as Craig was to return to the Dodgers in 1954 after completing his military service, he suffered a cruel twist of fate that delayed his big league dreams.

“The day before I went to spring training, I was playing basketball to keep in shape,” he said. “I intercepted a pass, and a guy bumped me; I fell and broke my left elbow. I happened to have a family doctor; I talked to him and told him I had to go to spring training tomorrow. I told him to put an ace bandage on it and let me go to spring training. Finally, I talked him into it. I went to spring training and did not tell anybody for a week or two.

“Finally, Al Campanis came over, grabbed my left arm, and squeezed it. He said, ‘What the hell is wrong with you?’ I told him the fracture was small but had gotten bigger since spring training. When I played catch with my catcher down there, I told him not to throw the ball back too hard because I had a sore hand. If they threw it too hard, I’d let it go.”

His injury set off a true season beating the bushes, as Craig bounced around three teams in the Dodgers organization. He finally settled in with their Class B team in Newport News for the majority of the 1954 season.

With his impressive performance for Newport News in 1954, the Dodgers promoted Craig to their Triple-A team in Montreal for the 1955 campaign. After breezing through the league with a 10-2 record, Craig received a call to meet with his manager while the team played a series in Havana, Cuba. What happened next not only was a shock for Craig, but also for another of his future Hall of Fame teammates.

“When I got called to the big leagues, Tom Lasorda and I both pitched a doubleheader and [we] both pitched shutouts,” he said. “The next morning, the manager Greg Mulleavy called me in his office in Havana, Cuba. I said, ‘What the heck is going on? I went out and had a couple of beers.’ He said, ‘You’re pitching Sunday.’ I said, ‘I know, you already told me that.’ He said, ‘You’re pitching Sunday in Brooklyn!’ What a shock. Tommy was upset because he didn’t get called up.”

Pitching in Ebbets Field on a Sunday, Craig led the Boys of Summer to a 6-2 complete game victory. The man who went to North Carolina State with visions of hoop dreams was now standing tall on the mound as Brooklyn’s newest favorite son.

“When I first walked in that clubhouse with Jackie, Pee Wee, Duke, Furillo, and all those great Hall of Famers, I said, ‘I don’t belong here, what am I doing here?’” Craig said. “They made me feel welcome. I was lucky enough I pitched the first game of a doubleheader we played and beat Cincinnati with a complete game three-hitter victory.”

The Dodgers kept Craig on their roster throughout the rest of the regular season and the postseason. With the 1955 World Series knotted at two games apiece between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees, Dodgers manager Walter Alston called upon the rookie to give them the edge in the series.

“About the World Series, I pitched pretty well all year,” he said. “We lost the first two and won the next two. I told Joe Becker the bullpen coach, ‘I’ve gotta throw some.’ After I had thrown about ten minutes, he told me, ‘Sit down, you’ve had enough.’”

Craig did not immediately understand why his coach told him to stop throwing. That evening, after the Dodgers Game 4 win, Walter Alston made it evident why they wanted him to rest.

“He didn’t tell me then, but Walter Alston called and told him to sit me down,” he said. “We win the game. I go to the clubhouse, sit in front of my locker, and Alston walked up and said, ‘How do you feel?’ I said, ‘I feel great, I haven’t pitched.’ He said, ‘Well you’re starting tomorrow!’ I think Newcombe and Erskine were ready to pitch. I pitched six innings and we ended up getting a win. That was a great thrill.”

Fifty-seven years later when the Mets invited Craig to throw out the first pitch in 2012, all of his memories of World Series victory came screaming back as he toured New York City.

“My wife and I were here in New York and I threw out the first pitch for the Mets because I pitched the first game 50 years ago,” he said. “We stayed in Times Square and I remember the night I won my World Series game — my mother was there, my brother and my wife were with me, and I was on a TV show with Floyd Patterson.”

“After the show was over, we went to Jack Dempsey’s restaurant. He found out I was there and he sat down and talked with me. We came out and they had that big display in Times Square with the names going across it. My brother said, ‘Look up there, ‘Roger Craig beat the Yankees.’ It had my name up there. They got a big kick out of that.”

As the Dodgers emerged victorious over the Yankees to bring home Brooklyn’s first and only World Series championship, the young rookie was unaware of the moment’s significance. While he and the other upstarts were celebrating with hollered emotions, Craig noticed something different with the veterans.

“One thing about after the game was over, we were in the clubhouse and everyone was celebrating and drinking Schaefer and Rheingold beer,” he said. “All of the young guys, Roebuck, Bessent, Spooner, and myself were having a good time. You looked around, and all these guys, Jackie Robinson, Don Newcombe, Pee Wee Reese, and Duke Snider had tears in their eyes. I just realized that they had not won in so long and it was the first time they ever won it.”

“To get to this point and all, they all got very emotional. It was really something to witness. We just quieted down and let them be themselves.”

Craig stayed with the Dodgers as they moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. As one of the newer players on the Brooklyn team, he did not have the same attachment as his teammates who had planted their roots over a decade earlier.

“I was a young rookie and all that,” he said. “I was such a young guy and didn’t really see the total impact of guys like Gil, Erskine, Newcombe, Duke, and Campanella. A lot of the other guys did not want to leave. I am surprised that some of them even went.”

As he reflected further on the move, Craig realized how both National League teams’ westward migration opened the door for fresh New York Mets allegiances.

“I read the book O’Malley wrote about all the things he went through to build a stadium,” he said. “It was a bold move to do something like that. He talked Stoneham into going with the Giants. To move two clubs —that is why the Mets had such great fans. The Giants and Dodgers fans did not want to be Yankee fans. They were great Mets fans and it helped.”

As the Mets tried to capitalize on those nostalgic hopes that Craig noted, he and Gil Hodges were amongst the many former Dodgers that the Mets selected in the 1961 expansion draft. As sentiment has grown for Hodges’ Hall of Fame induction, Craig shared what made his late teammate special.

“He was the nicest individual I ever met in my life, on the field or off the field,” Craig noted. “He was a real professional and a gentleman. I could see why he was a great manager. He was a great hitter, but also probably, the best defensive first baseman I have seen. He was a catcher too; he could catch if he wanted to. He would have pine tar over his hands all the time. I would take a brand new ball and throw it over to him, he would rub it one time and it would have pine tar all over it. Sometimes the cover would be loose because he had those big strong hands. He was a great guy to play with.”

Craig was a mainstay in the Mets rotation during their first two seasons, pitching in 88 games, 27 of them complete games. He played an additional three years afterward, wrapping up his 12-year major league career with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1966. While he took the brunt of 46 losses with Mets, often with little to no run support, he still found happiness being in the company of familiar faces.

“It was like you had gone to a new team and all that, but with all those guys that played with Brooklyn and Los Angeles, it wasn’t that bad,” he said. “We just kinda had the good camaraderie right away, Don Zimmer, Gus Bell, Frank Thomas, Richie Ashburn, Hobie [Landrith], Felix Mantilla, etc. You think with those names that we would have won more games than we did, but it just didn’t happen.”

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Fred Valentine | Washington Senators Outfielder Dies At 87

Fred Valentine, former major league outfielder with the Washington Senators and Baltimore Orioles, died December 26, 2022 in Washington D.C. He was 87. 

Valentine grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, where he excelled at Booker T. Washington High School in both baseball and football. A star quarterback and shortstop, he drew interest from multiple major league organizations out of high school; however, he decided to pursue his education at Tennessee A+I (now Tennessee State University). 

At his college football coach's behest, Valentine chose to sign with the Baltimore Orioles in 1956, despite offers from NFL teams. 

Like many Black players in his era, Valentine endured Jim Crow segregation in the South while playing in places like Wilson, North Carolina. Minor leaguers frequently received gifts from local businesses for stellar play. When Valentine went to collect his rewards, he was instantly reminded of the inequities he was fighting to escape. 

"When I won something," Valentine said in Bob Luke's Integrating the Orioles, "which I did often, I couldn't go in the front door. I'd have to go around back. If it was a meal, they'd box it up for me."

Valentine persisted in the minors, receiving a call-up to Baltimore in 1959. He joined a select group of major leaguers who played through MLBs first decade of integration. His time with Baltimore was short-lived, as he spent the next four seasons at AAA trying to work his way back to the big time. 

He caught his big break in 1964 when the Senators purchased his contract from the Orioles. Valentine's hustling spirit drew manager Gil Hodges' favor, something that resonated with Valentine over 50 years later when discussing his late manager. 

“The biggest thing I remember from Gil was that when I came [to] spring training, the only thing he asked was for 100 percent," Valentine said in 2018. "Regardless of how the game turned out, he just wanted a hundred percent from his players, and I always felt I didn't have any problems with that. He was going to give me an opportunity to play, and I told him I was going to give him a 110 percent, and I think I did.” 

Valentine played with the Senators through 1968, even earning MVP votes in 1966. A midseason trade returned Valentine to the Orioles to finish his major league career. He played one more season in the minors in 1969 and then spent the 1970 season playing for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan. 

In retirement, Valentine worked with a group of former major leaguers to establish the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association in 1982. He remained active in many charities, including the Firefighters Charitable Foundation, where he was an annual guest at their dinners and golf outings.

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