Among all the states in the U.S., Ohio certainly has one of the highest “sports density” in the entire nation. Despite its population of only 11.8 million people, the three main cities of Cincinnati, Cleveland and Columbus hosts eight franchises in the various professional leagues.
Eight pro teams
The historic baseball teams of the Cincinnati Reds and the Cleveland Guardians, dating back to the late 1800s, have been joined throughout the years by two football NFL teams (Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns), one hockey team (Columbus Blue Jackets), and, more recently, but two soccer teams (Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati).
But no doubt the most famous franchise in the state is the NBA team of the Cleveland Cavaliers. They won the title in 2016 led by Ohio’s own LeBron James after he had returned to his first team following a four-year stint in South Florida with the Miami Heat.
LeBron and Steph
LeBron James is probably the most iconic sports personality born in the state of Ohio, most certainly one that has his name tied to its birth state more than any other: born and raised in Akron, where he started showing his immense talent at the St. Vincent-St. Mary High School from where he was drafted in 2003 with the no. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers. His four NBA rings together with the four NBA MVP titles and the two Olympic gold medals won with the U.S. national team in Beijing 2008 and London 2012 have made him a legend of basketball, as well as the first active player to officially become a billionaire in 2022.
However, LeBron is not the only basketball legend that came out of Akron, Ohio: Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry went to high school in North Carolina and has always played for the Bay Area team, but he is still an Ohio man through and through.
These are the two most high-profile athletes still in activity, which will probably attract the attention of most Ohio fans as sports betting becomes available in the state can use the MGMBet promo code dedicated to them as of January 2023. And they are certainly the two most likely protagonists of a future biopic dedicated to them, most likely together with Simone Biles, the 25-year-old gymnast raised in Columbus by her grandparents who amazed the world with four gold medals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and later was one of the first to start a wider conversation on mental health among top athletes.
Other Ohio athletes that are now retired but have left a permanent mark in their respective sports are golfer Jack Nicklaus, winner of 18 major titles, and sprinter Jesse Owens, four-time gold medalist at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and recently retired Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, two-time Super Bowl champion in 2005 and 2008.