Michael Edward Tobey (born October 10, 1994) is an American–born naturalized Slovenian professional basketball player for Scaligera Basket Verona of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He played college basketball for the Virginia Cavaliers.
After attending Monroe-Woodbury Middle School, Tobey attended Blair Academy where he averaged 21 points and nine rebounds. He was a Top 100 Recruit by ESPN and Rivals.com.
Tobey committed to UVA over schools such as Maryland, Pittsburgh, and Xavier. During his time at Virginia, he split time between being a starter and being one of the first substitutes off the bench. His play off the bench earned him the ACC Sixth Man of the Year award in 2015. Tobey was on the United States national under-19 basketball team that won the 2013 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. Tobey ended his collegiate career as Virginia's all-time leader in games played, appearing in 138 games over his four years.
Charlotte Hornets and Greensboro Swarm (2016–2017)
After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Tobey joined the Charlotte Hornets for the Orlando Summer League and the Utah Jazz for the Las Vegas Summer League. On July 25, 2016, he signed with the Hornets, but was waived on October 22, 2016, after appearing in two preseason games. On October 31, 2016, he was acquired by the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA Development League as an affiliate player of the Hornets. On February 3, 2017, he returned to the Hornets on a 10-day contract. On February 13, 2017, he signed a second 10-day contract with Charlotte, despite having not appeared in a game during his first 10-day contract. He made his NBA debut two days later, recording two points and three rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench in a 90–85 loss to the Toronto Raptors. On February 24, 2017, after the second 10-day contract expired, Tobey returned to the Swarm.
On March 16, 2017, Tobey signed with Spanish club Valencia for the rest of the 2016–17 ACB season. He won the Liga ACB that year, albeit being injured for some time before the playoffs, which hindered his performance and limited his minutes during the playoffs. On June 30, 2017, Valencia announced that they did not renew their contract with Tobey. In his first season at Valencia, he averaged 5.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 0.3 assists in the 2016–17 ACB season.
Iberostar Tenerife (2017–2018)
On July 24, 2017, Tobey signed with Iberostar Tenerife for the 2017–18 ACB season.
On September 24, 2017, Tobey won the FIBA Intercontinental Cup with Tenerife after beating Guaros de Lara 76–71. Tobey was named Most Valuable Player of the game after recording 21 points and 9 rebounds.
On December 23, 2017, Tobey scored a career-high of 24 points in one game against Urbas Fuenlabrada in the Liga ACB. He posted three double-doubles in the 2017–18 ACB season, on October 1, 2017, against San Pablo Burgos, on March 11, 2018, against Zaragoza, and on April 15, 2018, against Baskonia. He also posted a double-double of 18 points and 16 rebounds against Real Madrid, in the 2018 ACB Playoffs. Tobey recorded two double-doubles in the 2017–18 Basketball Champions League, on January 10, 2018, against Gaziantep and on March 14, 2018, against UCAM Murcia. He averaged 10.6 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 0.6 assists in the 2017–18 ACB season.
Return to Valencia (2018–2022)
On July 9, 2018, Tobey signed a two-year deal with Valencia Basket after Iberostar Tenerife did not match the Valencian offer for the restricted free agent. On October 1, it was announced that Tobey would miss three weeks of action due to a sprained right shoulder.
Tobey posted one double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds in the 2018–19 ACB season. He recorded it against Zaragoza on December 29, 2018. In the 2018–19 ACB he averaged 8.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 0.5 assists, while he averaged 7.9 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in the 2018–19 EuroCup.
He recorded four double-doubles in the 2019–20 season, all in the 2020 ACB Playoffs, against Andorra, Zaragoza,
San Pablo Burgos, and Gran Canaria. On May 12, 2019, Tobey matched his career-high of 24 points in one game against Movistar Estudiantes in a Liga ACB game. Tobey averaged 6.3 points, 5 rebounds and 0.4 assists in the 2019–20 ACB season. He averaged 8.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists in EuroLeague the same season. He posted his first double-double in EuroLeague on November 21, 2019, against Khimki, in an eventual 89–84 win. With his 10 rebounds, Tobey was also Valencia's rebounding leader in that game. He was also the rebounding leader in Valencia's 59–66 win over Bayern Munich. That season Tobey was also among the top performers in Valencia's EuroLeague wins over Alba Berlin, Fenerbahçe, and Zenit Saint Petersburg.
On July 12, 2020, Valencia Basket announced that Tobey renewed his contract with them for two more years.
Tobey recorded two double-doubles in the 2020–21 ACB season, on October 27, 2020, against Monbus Obradoiro, and on January 24, 2021, against Baskonia. He averaged 9.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in the 2020–21 Liga Endesa, and 9.6 points, 5 rebounds and 0.8 assists in the 2020–21 EuroLeague.
In the 2020–21 EuroLeague he led Valencia to a 83–76 win over Bayern Munich, scoring 18 points. He also dished out 2 assists and grabbed 4 rebounds, and with a 22 PIR was Valencia's top performer of the game. He scored the go-ahead two-pointer, bringing the score to 70–68. After Bayern tied at 70 and Sam Van Rossom again pulled Valencia ahead by making 2/2 free-throws, Tobey helped to extend the lead with 4 rebounds, 1 assist and a two-pointer. He was the top performer in Valencia's win over eventual 2020–21 EuroLeague champion Anadolu Efes, grabbing 8 rebounds and scoring 21 points for a 27 PIR. With a 18 PIR was among the top performers against Khimki, which Valencia defeated 88–82. He was also the rebounding leader of the game with 8 rebounds