Trevor Mbakwe and Greg Oden long lost twins?

According to Betteridge’s Law of Headlines, the answer to this post’s title is no.

Yet it’s still our duty to debunk this rumor that has been clamouring around for the last 20 seconds (and will silently whisk away by the end of this article).

But giving credit where credit is due, teammate Andre Hollins first eluded to the striking similarities between Greg Oden and Trevor Mbakwe in a tweet with the accompanying photo :

Oden, the former Ohio State big man and first overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, was born on Jan. 22, 1988, according to Wikipedia*.

Mbakwe, the Golden Gopher power forward and sixth year senior, was born Jan. 24, 1989.

While their birthdays are only a year and two days apart (gasp I know), there’s a conquering feeling that suggests this is not the result of a smudged number or two.

Besides playing the same sport in the same collegiate conference and having the same haircut and facial hair, I don’t think these two are related.

Oden, who was born in Buffalo, New York*, looks to be attempting an NBA comeback after sitting out this year and last year while recovering from injures.

Mbakwe, the hometown kid from St. Paul, on the other hand is still working on making a favorable impression with scouts as the NBA Draft looms.

Either way, thank you Andre for posting this photo and giving all the die-hard Gopher fans something to do besides tremor in a corner.

Ski-U-Mah.

* According to Wikipedia