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LeBron James Shares How He Overcame ‘Crushing’ Ohio State Loss

The adamant Ohio State Buckeyes fan did his best to ring in the new year on a positive note.
LeBron James Shares How He Overcame ‘Crushing’ Ohio State Loss
LeBron James Shares How He Overcame ‘Crushing’ Ohio State Loss

Ohio State suffered a heartbreaking loss in the College Football Playoff semifinals Saturday night, coming up just short of beating defending national champion Georgia in a 42–41 barnburner in Atlanta. Perhaps no one was as upset as LeBron James, a noted Buckeyes fan.

After Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles missed wide left on what would have been a 50-yard winning field goal, James tweeted his displeasure. A short while later, his wife, Savannah, revealed how the NBA star was working to get over the loss by one of his favorite teams: by playing Madden. 

In a video posted to Instagram, Savannah can be heard asking LeBron if he planned to ring in the new year while playing the latest edition of the famous video game. The Lakers star then explained why he was turning to Madden for solace.

“I mean listen I’ve been in Atlanta all weekend,” LeBron responded. “I got my birthday celebration. I won a basketball game. We celebrated my birthday with you and mom.

“Ohio State crushing loss,” he added while pretending to get choked up. “So I gotta get a dub. Start the new year off with it.”

All in all, James had a strong end to 2022. On his 38th birthday on Dec. 30, the 20-year veteran scored 47 points in a brilliant performance against the Hawks. Though the Lakers have struggled over the first half of the NBA season, James has been as spectacular as ever and will now try to turn his team’s fortunes around in 2023.

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Published | Modified
Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a Breaking and Trending News writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the “Bleav in Northwestern” podcast and received a bachelor’s in journalism from Northwestern University.