If you thought the United States men's basketball team—Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant and friends—was the only cohort of American NBA players headed to the Paris Olympics, you would be mistaken.
One other ex-NBAer is headed to sports' biggest stage—in beach volleyball.
Chase Budinger, a forward for the Houston Rockets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Indiana Pacers and Suns from 2010-16, has officially qualified for the Paris Games. Budinger and partner Miles Evans punched their ticket Wednesday, with the elimination of Americans Theo Brunner and Trevor Crabb from a qualifying tournament in the Czech Republic.
A blue-chip prospect in both basketball and volleyball out of high school, Budinger chose hoops and played three productive seasons at Arizona. The Detroit Pistons made him the 44th pick of the 2009 NBA draft.
In 2018, he returned to beach volleyball, beginning a successful partnership with Evans in 2023.
Olympic competition in the sport is scheduled to open July 27.
Among the four major North American sports leagues, the NBA has traditionally stood out in the popular imagination as being the league of the dynasties. The Boston Celtics of the 1960s begat the Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s begat the Chicago Bulls of the 1990s, and so on and so forth.
For this reason, it may surprise you to learn that in the NBA Finals' entire history—from its quaint 1947 origins to the present day—professional basketball's final series has seen just nine sweeps.
Here is a look back at the nine perfect performances in the event's annals. Note before we begin that there were four best-of-five finals sweeps in the history of the National Basketball League, the NBA's immediate predecessor.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Celtics 118, Lakers 115
Game 2
Celtics 128, Lakers 108
Game 3
Celtics 123, Lakers 110
Game 4
Celtics 118, Lakers 113
The very first Finals between Boston and the Lakers, and the only one that took place while the Lakers were located in Minneapolis. The first of the Celtics' run of eight straight championships, the longest streak in the history of the four major North American sports. Boston center Bill Russell averaged 29.5 rebounds per game, which will play.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Bucks 98, Bullets 88
Game 2
Bucks 102, Bullets 83
Game 3
Bucks 107, Bullets 99
Game 4
Bucks 118, Bullets 106
The Milwaukee Bucks' first title, and their only title until 2021. The first of six rings for Bucks center Lew Alcindor, the future Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The most recent of two series, along with the 1956 Finals, played under a 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 format in which the two teams alternated home games.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Warriors 101, Bullets 95
Game 2
Warriors 92, Bullets 91
Game 3
Warriors 109, Bullets 101
Game 4
Warriors 96, Bullets 95
Both the Golden State Warriors (Al Attles) and Washington Bullets (K.C. Jones) had Black head coaches, which hadn't happened before in any league. The Bullets actually took three of four from Golden State in the regular season, anticipating a highly competitive matchup. A 14-5 run late in Game 4 gave the Warriors their last title until 2015.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
76ers 113, Lakers 107
Game 2
76ers 103, Lakers 93
Game 3
76ers 111, Lakers 94
Game 4
76ers 115, Lakers 108
A fitting conclusion to Hall of Fame center Moses Malone's third and final MVP season. Polished off a 12-1 playoff run after Malone predicted the Philadelphia 76ers would need only four games to win each series. The last major Philadelphia championship until the Philadelphia Phillies won the World Series in 2008.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Pistons 109, Lakers 97
Game 2
Pistons 108, Lakers 105
Game 3
Pistons 114, Lakers 110
Game 4
Pistons 105, Lakers 97
The Detroit Pistons' first title after a grueling seven-game loss to the Lakers the season prior. Featured a superb performance from Pistons guard Joe Dumars, who averaged 27.3 points per game. The curtain call on Abdul-Jabbar's spectacular 20-year career.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Rockets 120, Magic 118 (OT)
Game 2
Rockets 117, Magic 106
Game 3
Rockets 106, Magic 103
Game 4
Rockets 113, Magic 101
Notorious for the Orlando Magic's complete meltdown in Game 1, during which guard Nick Anderson missed four crucial free throws to open the door for Houston Rockets guard Kenny Smith's game-tying three. The Rockets, seeded sixth, became the lowest-seeded team to win the title. Houston's title followed a seven-game championship win over the New York Knicks in 1994.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Lakers 99, Nets 94
Game 2
Lakers 106, Nets 83
Game 3
Lakers 106, Nets 103
Game 4
Lakers 113, Nets 107
The Lakers' third consecutive championship, and center Shaquille O'Neal's third consecutive Finals MVP award. Los Angeles overcame a superb individual series from New Jersey Nets guard Jason Kidd, who had averaged a triple-double in the Eastern Conference finals. The last Finals aired on NBC to date.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Spurs 95, Cavaliers 76
Game 2
Spurs 103, Cavaliers 92
Game 3
Spurs 75, Cavaliers 72
Game 4
Spurs 83, Cavaliers 82
Noted for its astoundingly low scores, Game 3 was the lowest-scoring Finals game since 1955. The first Finals for Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, and for every Cavalier apart from veteran guard Eric Snow. Despite several close games, only in Game 4 did Cleveland lead in the second half.
GAME
RESULT
Game 1
Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114 (OT)
Game 2
Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3
Warriors 110, Cavaliers 102
Game 4
Warriors 108, Cavaliers 85
The sweep everyone remembers. Began with a bizarre overtime game in which Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith appeared to forget the score at the end of regulation and James scored 51 points in defeat. The average margin of victory, 15, is the largest in any NBA Finals.
Galveston, Texas took it on the chin this weekend.
The Gulf of Mexico resort city—minding its own business during the NBA playoffs—suddenly gained notoriety when Hall of Fame forward and TNT analyst Charles Barkley proposed the city as an alternate vacation destination to Cancun for teams after uninspired playoff efforts.
"We're not even gonna send them to Cancun. We're gonna send them to Galveston with that dirty-a-- water," Barkley said after the New Orleans Pelicans lost 106-85 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 3 of the first round Saturday. "Y'all quit. Drive your a-- down to Galveston."
However, Galveston has struck back. Per TMZ, mysterious billboards taking shots at Barkley have sprung up around the city.
Messages include "Hey Charles, our water is cleaner than your golf swing," "Hey Charles, come on down—the water's fine!" and "Hey Charles, you've never turned down any of our great food."
All are signed, "Love, Galveston."
Who would've guessed a feud between a television personality and a city that has produced two NBA players ever—and a city close to one of Barkley's old teams, the Houston Rockets—would rank among the most compelling rivalries of these NBA playoffs?
Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta believes that he is a natural fit for ownership of a new WNBA franchise in Houston if the league were to expand from 12 to 16 teams by the 2028 season.
"I feel like WNBA expansion is going to always work better and has a better chance of success in a city like Houston, where the Rockets are one of the strong teams from a financial standpoint," Fertitta said. "I think that I would probably be the natural owner."
Fertitta told the Houston Chronicle that he planned to register interest with the WNBA in the coming weeks.
League expansion is beginning this season with a new franchise in Oakland, Ca. WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert told reporters at the draft last month that expansion can be complex.
A WNBA team in Houston would not be new. The Houston Comets were one of the original eight WNBA franchises, and won the first four WNBA titles in 1997, '98. '99 and '00. Comets owner Hilton Koch put the team up for sale in 2008, and the WNBA took over operations after no investors met Koch's $10 million purchase price. The franchise was disbanded and has not been part of the league since.
