“Me and Chase Budinger were co-MVPs” – Kevin Durant reminisces on playing in McDonald’s All-American Game
Before Kevin Durant was a two-time NBA champion and an MVP, he was a high school NBA hopeful. Like many of the league's best young prospects, Durant played in the McDonald's All-American Game, an annual All-Star game held for high school students.
The game, which has become quite the proving ground for young NBA hopefuls, has continued to draw plenty of attention year after year. As a high school standout with Montrose Christian School in Maryland, Durant was already on a collision course with greatness.
When Durant appeared at the 2006 McDonald's All-American game, he put on an absolute masterclass, scoring 25 points en route to a co-MVP award. The other half of the MVP award? Chase Budinger, who some NBA fans may remember from his eight seasons in the league.
During a recent episode of Boardroom, Durant reflected on the 2006 McDonald's All-American game:
"The greatest experience, man. ... Me and Chase Budinger were co-MVPs. I had an incredible time, it was my first time in San Diego, mingling with all the guys you go to war with, you hoop against the whole summer, damn near your whole high school career. You see all these guys that you've been building relationships with.
"You get to hang out with them, see a different side of them. It's perfect because your school is almost ending, your season is over with, you can kind of just chill and relax and then the All-Star games start to hit and then boom you're right into summer school. It's a quick transition with all that stuff but it's so much fun."
.@KDTrey5 has great memories of playing in the @McDAAG:
"The greatest experience. ... I wanna relive that again."
full episode: bit.ly/3zf8SJc https://t.co/cXC5R9QaW4
You can see Kevin Durant's full comments in the video above.
Kevin Durant and Chase Budinger's careers after the McDonald's All-American game
As Kevin Durant pointed out, he and Chase Budinger were the co-MVPs for the 2006 McDonald's All-American game. For Durant, a notable high school standout, the award marked the beginning of his storied NBA career. For Budinger, a two-sport athlete in high school, the award marked a high point in his short career.
After a year at Texas, Durant ended up going second overall in the 2007 NBA draft to the Seattle SuperSonics. Budinger, on the other hand, played three years for Arizona before ultimately being selected in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft.
While Kevin Durant was already making a name for himself as one of the league's best scorers, Budinger's NBA run was less spectacular. In his second year in the league, he averaged a career-high 9.8 ppg. Over the next six seasons, however, those numbers fell until Budinger parted ways with the NBA.
After spending a year playing overseas in Europe, he decided to retire from basketball and focus on professional beach volleyball.
This year, the McDonald's All-American game will notably see Bronny James compete on March 28 at the Toyota Center.