As the saying goes, it ain't over 'til it's over. For some people that's a good thing. Others, not so much.
On Wednesday, NBC Sports pointed out that South Bend, Indiana mayor and 2020 Democratic candidate Pete Buttigieg has an NBA doppelgänger: Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. Buttigieg didn't dispute the evidence.
The resemblance doesn't stop there, however. Stevens and Buttigieg both grew up in Indiana; Stevens coached at Butler University in Indianapolis before making the leap to professional ball. Stevens, considered, like Buttigieg, a wunderkind, even got some support for his own presidential candidacy in the past.
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But the two have been on different trajectories of late in their quests for the presidency and an NBA title.
While Stevens remains highly regarded as a coach and has had quite a bit of success in his career to date, his talented Celtics team has had an up-and-down season this year. Boston began the year as preseason favorites in the NBA's Eastern Conference, but are now looking at finishing in the middle of the pack. Per FiveThirtyEight, they now have just a seven percent chance of making the NBA Finals, the fourth highest mark in the conference.
Buttigieg, meanwhile, has seemingly come out of nowhere to take the nascent stages of the Democratic primary by storm. But after making himself more visible at the national level in recent weeks, the 37-year-old former Rhodes Scholar appears to be a legitimate challenger. In the latest Emerson Iowa caucus poll, Buttigieg's 11 percent trailed only Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and former Vice President Joe Biden.
For what it's worth, Stevens might be among those who will help Buttigieg get into the Oval Office. There's probably not much Buttigieg can do to help the Celtics at this point, however.
