Former NBA player Chase Budinger is taking on another sport, this time at the Olympic level. He won his first match at the Paris Olympics.

Budinger, who played in the NBA for seven years with the Rockets, Timberwolves, Pacers and Suns, won his opening match in Pool F on Monday with partner Miles Evans.

The duo defeated the French team of Arnaud Gauthier-Rat and Youssef Krou in straight sets 21-14, 21-11.

“I’m excited to play here,” Budinger said. “It just brought back a lot of memories, going to NBA arenas and playing away.”

Despite his French opponents having the home court advantage, the former 44th overall pick by the NBA in 2009 said the huge support from the American representatives in the crowd helped him and Evans secure victory.

“Our cheering section was awesome,” Budinger said. “They gave us a lot of energy, a big boost. Every time we made a big play, I looked up at our section because I knew we were about 80 to 100 strong there.”

One of Budinger’s opponents in the game felt his NBA background gave him an extra advantage, as he had already been in so many risky situations.

“I don’t know if it has to do with his NBA experience, but in my experience, he was the only composed player on the court,” said Gauthier-Rat, who also faced the same decision about whether to play basketball or indoor volleyball (his grandfather, Michel Rat, played for the French national team). “The other three, his partner and the two of us, were more stressed and felt more pressure. And he felt more relaxed and he could put pressure on us without making mistakes and generally managed the emotions better.”

Despite his code switch, Budinger still has the NBA and its best players on his mind.

“Basketball is such a brotherhood,” Budinger said The bell recently. “… It definitely gave me some extra motivation to try to make it to the Olympics this year, knowing that KD is going to the Olympics for the fourth time. And Steph (Curry) (is) going. And this is LeBron’s last time. I can’t wait to go see them and cheer them on.”

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