NBA's Chase Budinger Says He's Gunnin' for Olympic Gold, But Not in Basketball!

Former NBA stud Chase Budinger says ballin' for Team USA is his ultimate career goal -- even though he's done with pro hoops!

Here's the deal ... last year, 29-year-old Budinger hung it up and moved back to volleyball, the other sport he used to dominate. (Fun fact: he was the #1 men's volleyball player back in high school.)

Chase tells TMZ Sports he and 2-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal are gearin' up for their 1st season as a beach v-ball team ... and he's hoping they can go all the way in the 2020 Games once they crush a couple summers on the sand.

We wouldn't doubt him -- remember, this is the guy who channeled Billy Hoyle and JUMPED OVER DIDDY at the 2012 Slam Dunk Contest!