"LeBron James spelled my name wrong" – Freddie Freeman humorously points out basketball icon misspelling congratulatory message during World Series
World Series MVP Freddie Freeman put on a show during the Fall Classic, hitting 12 RBIs that included four home runs for the LA Dodgers. He received instant appreciation from his friends and family as well as stalwarts in the sporting community, including NBA legend and LA Lakers star LeBron James, who seemingly made a slight mistake in his acknowledgment.
As Freeman hit his fourth consecutive home run in as many games against the New York Yankees in the World Series and set a new record, James tweeted a special congratulatory post for him on X (formerly Twitter).
However, he misspelled his name and later corrected it.
On the "New Heights" podcast, the Kelce brothers brought up Freddie Freeman's shout-out from his fellow Los Angeles sports star. The Dodgers infielder said he had noticed the mistake and was satisfied after the correction, especially because he doesn't like his name misspelled.
"Heard, he spelled my name wrong," Freeman said. "The first time, yeah, he spelled it with a 'y'. Yeah, I'm very particular about my name. I just want it spelled right, you know? I heard he corrected it, He put the 'ie' on it. Um, 'cause a lot of people, I think, started correcting him. I don't know why I'm particular about my name."
The former NL MVP also said it always feels great when sportspersons receive recognition from their peers. For him, it felt even better because it was coming from an icon like LeBron James.
"LeBron's come to a couple games, you know, throughout the course of the regular season. Um, so it's pretty cool. I mean, as athletes, you just respect everybody, and LeBron is the greatest basketball player of all time, so it's kind of... it's pretty cool, man. Yeah, it's special. I guess it just means you've done something really good," Freeman said.
Freddie Freeman and Dodgers teammates greeted at Lakers game
Freddie Freeman, along with his fellow Dodgers teammates Mookie Betts, Brusdar Graterol, Jack Flaherty and Chris Taylor, were serenaded at the Crypto.com Arena ahead of the Lakers game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night.
The World Series champions presented the Commissioner's Trophy at the house that Kobe Bryant built as they received a warm ovation. They also met LeBron, who also shared a special moment with Freddie's son.
LeBron put on a show as he earned his career's 114th triple-double on the way to a 116-106 win over the 76ers. He would want to replicate Freddie Freeman's achievement while the Dodgers gear up for next season looking to defend their rings.