Who is Luka Doncic's teammate Mike Tobey? Exploring the Slovenian-American's heritage

Some fans might be confused that a player for Slovenia named Mike Tobey has no Slavic-sounding last name. Tobey is a naturalized Slovenian player and was born in the United States. In this article, we explore the origins of Luka Doncic's American-born teammate.

Tobey was born on Oct. 10, 1994, to Ken and Kathleen Tobey in Monroe, New York. He played high school basketball for Blair Academy in New Jersey. He attended the University of Virginia and was a member of their basketball team for four years.

The 28-year-old center went undrafted in 2016 but signed with the Charlotte Hornets and Utah Jazz in the Summer League. He eventually joined the Hornets and played two preseason games before getting waived before the 2016-17 NBA season.

Mike Tobey was claimed by the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Tobey would later sign a 10-day contract with the Charlotte Hornets and make his NBA debut on Feb. 26, 2017. He played two games for the Hornets before getting sent back to the Swarm.

After a season in the NBA G League, Tobey took his talents overseas and played for several European teams. His first team was Valencia in Spain before he signed with Tenerife for the 2017-18 season. He went back to Valencia the next season and played there for four years.

Tobey signed a one-year deal with FC Barcelona last year, averaging 5.9 points and 2.9 rebounds as the backup center. He joined Crvena Zvezda in Serbia in July and will play for them in the 2023-24 season.

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How did Mike Tobey become a Slovenian citizen?

Luka Doncic (left) and Mike Tobey of Slovenia

Under FIBA rules, countries can have a naturalized player on their roster for all of their international tournaments.

Slovenia used to have former NBA player Anthony Randolph, who was past his prime, a few years ago. They needed a new naturalized player to help Luka Doncic, and that's when Mike Tobey came in.

Tobey secured his Slovenian passport in 2021 ahead of the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He made his debut for the national team on Jun. 18 that year and has been with the team ever since.

In a 2021 interview with Eurohoops, Tobey narrated the story of how his family bought a Slovenian flag when he became a naturalized citizen. He's happy about the support they're giving him ahead of the Olympics.

"They are going to hang the Slovenian flag outside the house during the whole Olympic tournament," Tobey said.

"Our neighbors are going to be confused, but it's great. They will hear yelling and all in a weird time because of the time difference, but they'll figure it out."