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Fans may have done a double take when Topps posted a photo on X of a Bowman Chrome card signed by one of the Pittsburgh Pirates' international signings from this past offseason.
The card bears the name and likeness of Iverson Allen, a 16-year-old outfielder from Panama whose name bears a striking resemblance to that of Hall of Fame NBA point guard Allen Iverson.
According to John Dreker of PiratesProspects.com, Allen's father played basketball for Panama's national team, which likely explains his son's strangely familiar name. Iverson, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, spent the first 11 seasons of his NBA career on the other side of Pennsylvania with the Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 26.7 points per game over the course of his career with the 76ers, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies. He was the 1997 NBA Rookie of the Year, 2001 NBA MVP and a four-time NBA scoring champion. Iverson was enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2016.
And here's another unique similarity between the NBA legend and the baseball prospect who shares the inverse of his name: the former was listed at 6 feet, 165 pounds when he retired from basketball, while the latter is currently listed at 6 feet, 165 pounds.
𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪: The Pittsburgh Pirates have a prospect named Iverson Allen. pic.twitter.com/ySHn3nV1NW
— Topps (@Topps) September 11, 2024
Pirates signed outfielder Iverson Allen for more than just his name
The Pirates signed Allen as an international free agent in January. Dreker appropriately described him as "a center fielder with raw tools and a very high ceiling (high enough to dunk)." The Pirates had reportedly been the frontrunners since 2022 to land him on the international free-agent market, finally putting pen to paper in 2024, when he was old enough to sign.
The Pirates assigned Allen to the Dominican Summer League, where he recently wrapped up his first season with a slash line of .233/.313/.317 over 67 plate appearances. Allen is a plus athlete with above-average speed, as evidenced by the pair of bases he stole over the course of 22 DSL games.
Perhaps, in a few years, Allen will be The Answer to the Pirates' questions at center field.
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