Ted Cruz Finally Admitted That Grayson Allen Is His Basketball Doppelgänger

Grayson Allen is, quite easily, the most famous player in college basketball today. Much of that has to do with his penchant for tripping opposing players and some of his fame also stems from being a hated player on the country’s most hated team. However, a third factor also contributes to Allen’s prominence: the fact that he is a dead ringer for Texas senator and former presidential candidate Ted Cruz.

On Monday, the good folks at Deadspin put out a request for proof that Senator Cruz plays basketball and, well, Cruz sent them a definitive answer.

Cruz isn’t always the most likable individual by all accounts, but this was unquestionably amusing. It is a virtual certainty that Cruz has been alerted to the resemblance between the two individuals and he took the opportunity to grab a social media win on this occasion.

The backdrop to Deadspin’s call to action was, apparently, a story from Politico that references Cruz’s ability to shoot a competent jump shot.

Cruz appears intent on building—and in some cases repairing—personal relationships with Republican senators. He started a weekly basketball game in the Russell Building, for example, and has been urging colleagues to attend. (Cruz is said to be a surprisingly good jump-shooter with miserable form.) Tim Scott has played, and Marco Rubio is said to be joining soon.

While this action from Cruz doesn’t necessarily back up the claim that he is a “surprisingly good jump-shooter,” it does go toward his reported mission to repair relationships and his public image (well, at least among people who think he looks like Allen).