I don’t care how much basketball you have watched in your lifetime. I doubt you’ve ever seen this happen during a competitive game.
Mike Tobey, a 7-footer from the United States who played college basketball at Virginia, secured his Slovenian passport in 2021 so that he could play for the national team.
Tobey represented the country during the Olympics in Tokyo and he has recently become the preferred pick and roll partner for NBA superstar Luka Doncic. He is one of the starters for Slovenia in the EuroBasket tournament, and he took the tip-off against Germany during group play on Tuesday.
Never seen this one before. Slovenia starting center Mike Tobey just sprained his ankle and had to leave the game after landing on the ref's foot during the jump ball. pic.twitter.com/WSgtRGPVKq
— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) September 6, 2022
No one was expecting Tobey to lose his balance on the tip-off, but after bumping into the referee on his way down, the starter hobbled off of the court and had to leave the game.
Germany’s Dennis Schroder looked particularly confused by what happened.
You can take another look at the tumble, and his subsequent reaction, here:
What??? Mike Tobey sprained his ankle of the opening tip. You never see that. #EuroBasket pic.twitter.com/8f9bQQ6Iqk
— Hubie Talks Hoops (@HubieTalksHoops) September 6, 2022
Tobey, who had 24 points and 8 rebounds against Lithuania last week, eventually returned to the game.
His presence was necessary to match up against Germany, as the German squad entered the game with an impressive 3-0 record during group play.
