Once upon a time, Chase Budinger was a promising young college player at the University of Arizona with a bright future in the NBA ahead of him. Budinger averaged 17 points per game in his career as a Wildcat and shot 46% from the field, which may surprise some people. Since he was drafted in the second round of the NBA Draft in 2009, Budinger’s career has been severely hampered by injury after injury.
The Wolves acquired Budinger from the Houston Rockets before the 2011-12 NBA season which was Budinger’s third consecutive season averaging at least nine points per game and shooting at least 42% from the field. At the time, Budinger was brought in to fill the sixth man role in the rotation, and it didn’t seem that there was any doubt that Budinger would be able to provide that punch off the bench.
However, injuries happened.
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In his first season in Minnesota, Budinger only played 23 games and could never fit quite right into the rotation. Unfortunately, this theme has carried on throughout his tenure in Minnesota, and he’s become an afterthought on a team that he was brought in to be a large part of.
However, due to all of the injuries the Wolves have been plagued with recently, Budinger has seen a spike in his minutes. Without a doubt, Budinger is stepping up and taking advantage of his opportunity. In the month of March, he’s averaging nine points per game on 54% shooting while playing 22 minutes per game, which was his total average during his stint in Houston.
Sir Charles In Charge
When watching Budinger play during this stretch, there is a very noticeable difference in his game. Since he entered the NBA, Budinger has been stereotyped as purely a sharpshooting wingman that can’t do much else. Before all of his injuries, Budinger was actually a pretty good athlete and was selected as a contestant in the Slam Dunk Contest in 2012. Lately, we’ve seen Budinger become a completely different player. In fact, he’s shooting the three-ball very poorly for a sharpshooter, at 21.7% in the month of March. He’s finding other ways to contribute, namely scoring at the rim. He’s found himself playing a lot of power forward (again, due to all the injuries), and he’s adjusting very well.
Although it’s unlikely that Budinger will be around long-term for Minnesota (he has a player option for 2015-16), it’s nice to see him take advantage of his increased minutes. A multitude of injuries has derailed his career, and opportunities like these might be his only chance at getting himself another job after his stint in Minnesota.
In the meantime, we’ll keep enjoying the increased performance from Budinger and hope that he can be relied upon next season when his number is called.