LeBron James, Lakers surging following Ohio State's championship win

LeBron James traveled to Atlanta on Jan. 20 to watch his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes beat Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff championship game. One day later, he was back in Los Angeles, putting up a triple-double in the Lakers' 111-88 win over the Washington Wizards.

From that point on, James and the Lakers have been on fire. 

They'd lost four of their last six games and were sitting at 22-18. Since then, the Lakers have gone 14-3 and moved to within 1.5 games of second place in the Western Conference.

James has been on fire as well. He's averaging 27.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists since the Buckeyes won it all, shooting 53.2% from the field. He's shooting more three-pointers, making them at nearly a 40% clip and getting to the free-throw line for 17% more free throws.

One day after the championship, James told reporters that the football team had inspired him. 

"Anytime you see championship-caliber teams go out and play to a level of excellence, it's always inspiring ... I'm always inspired by greatness," James said.

He was especially invested in this year's team, narrating a hype video for the championship game.

Such a Buckeye-fueled surge has happened to a LeBron James team before. 

The Cleveland Cavaliers were 19-19 when Ohio State defeated Oregon in the national championship game on Jan. 12, 2015. Three days later, the Cavs began a 12-game win streak, part of an 18-3 stretch where James averaged 27.2 points per game. They'd go on to make the NBA Finals.

Even in high school, James averaged 32.6 points per game in the month following Ohio State's national title in January 2003. The only game he lost was due to a forfeit caused by James accepting free jerseys from a clothing store, though, to be fair, his team didn't lose a single game on the court that season.

Doncic deserves a lot of credit for the Lakers looking like a title contender. But don't discount the influence of Ryan Day, Will Howard and Quinshon Judkins in firing up the NBA's most famous Buckeyes fan.