Nate Robinson hurts self in pregame warmups, remains Nate Robinson

As befits a man who has won three dunk contests and had his jersey retired at the Vegas Summer League, Nate Robinson is a goofy character. While Robinson's dunks have earned him a lot of press, the defining characteristic of his career has been a childlike excitability, both off the court and on it.

So it should come as little surprise that he suffered a really hilarious injury before Monday's epic Game 4 in Memphis. From John Rohde for The Oklahoman (via TBJ):

Thunder reserve guard Nate Robinson suffered a small cut above his left eye when he took an inadvertent elbow from Robert Vaden during a pregame 3-on-3 contest inside FedExForum. The wound required two stitches. The game was stopped immediately.

Robinson remained active for the game, but, as has been the case in every game this postseason, he saw exactly zero minutes of playing time. Presumably, that result had nothing to do with the injury, even in a triple-overtime barnburner.

The story here isn't necessarily the injury, but how he did it. As tweeted here and shown by TNT during the game broadcast, Robinson dove for a ball during his game with Vaden. There's little point in acting so intense during a pregame, but Nate has boundless energy. He acts in this manner no matter the situation.

The only way this injury could be more Nate Robinson, in fact, is if he was diving after Skittles. I expect that exact update any minute now.

John Stockton Isiah Thomas Nate Thurmond Wes Unseld Bill Walton