“Threw His Coach Under the Bus”: LeBron James’ Rare Moment Recounted by Chris Haynes in Exclusive Interview

There are press conferences—and then there are moments when it’s obvious who really runs the room. In an exclusive sitdown with EssentiallySports, veteran journalist Chris Haynes recounted a staggering 2015 playoff moment that added a chapter to a very familiar narrative. A ‘killer’ conundrum that’s followed the Akron Hammer to this day. LeBron James, already known for quietly bending the game to his will, unmistakably reminded everyone in the room who truly called the shots—leaving his head coach in the awkward position of being nudged under the bus.

Chris Haynes didn’t hesitate when asked who the hardest-working player he’s ever covered was. “LeBron,” he said matter-of-factly. But when the question shifted to his most memorable press conference, his voice carried a mix of laughter and disbelief. “Uh, I would have to say LeBron again… because he lightweight threw his coach under the bus.” The setting? Cleveland. 2015. Deep in postseason.

LeBron had just hit a game-winning jumper, the kind of shot that cements legends and buys a coach’s job security. Or so it seemed. David Blatt, the Cavaliers’ head coach at the time, walked into the media room first. He spoke glowingly about the drawn-up play, about execution, and about trust in the system. Reporters nodded. It sounded clean and professional, almost like scripted PR, too. But then came LeBron. And the plot flipped.

LeBron, being the King that he is, took control of the situation, as he did with his play, and spelled out exactly what happened. With just 1.5 seconds remaining and the score tied at 84, the United Center was magnetic, the air thick with anticipation. The Cleveland Cavaliers faced a crucial inbound play, one that Coach David Blatt apparently had carefully drawn up… a plan that would soon be overshadowed…

As the huddle broke, LeBron took control. Ignoring the original play, he approached Blatt and declared, “Give me the ball. We’re either going to overtime, or I’m going to win it for us.” His voice was calm yet resolute, a leader making an executive decision in real time.

Matthew Dellavedova inbounded the ball to LeBron, who found himself tightly guarded by Jimmy Butler. With a swift jab step and a fadeaway jumper, LeBron released the ball just as the buzzer sounded. The ball sailed through the air, kissed the rim, and dropped through the net.

Cavaliers 86, Bulls 84. The crowd lost it, but honestly? The shot was just the appetizer. This was LeBron doing what LeBron does: bending the game to his will. And at the post-game press conference? Oh, he wore it like a badge of honor.

“LeBron came on a press conference and said, ‘You know that play which led to me hitting the game-winning shot? Yeah, Coach tried to draw something else up that didn’t involve me. And I killed it and said we’re doing this.’ And so, we were just flabbergasted that he admitted that. He brought that to the forefront. He let it be known that that play wasn’t supposed to be for him,” Chris Haynes narrated to EssentiallySports, laughing uncontrollably.

“He was actually supposed to… David Blatt called for LeBron to take the ball out. Well, you know, with that much time left, you take the ball out, you’re not getting the ball back. And so LeBron was like, I’m not taking the ball out. That ball is coming to me,” Haynes concluded. For context, coaches design late-game plays to balance risk, clock, and matchups. But King James wasn’t just any player. His court IQ rivals any clipboard. His ability to see two steps ahead has long made him part player, part tactician.

That night, though, his decision to override Blatt in real-time and then broadcast it afterwards spoke volumes. This wasn’t just about one possession. It was about authority and where the actual power rested in Cleveland. And then came David Blatt’s eyebrow-raising commentary 5 years later.

“Michael Jordan is greater than LeBron James… he focused on ‘us’ and won all his titles with one team,” Blatt opined.

Sure, if winning titles with just one franchise makes you greater, then Kobe Bryant’s five Lakers rings already blow that logic out of the water. And the whole “Jordan over ‘I’” argument? Classic misread. Tex Winter once told Jordan, there’s no ‘I’ in team, and Jordan famously fired back, “No, but there’s an ‘I’ in win.”

Meanwhile, LeBron’s career assists overshadow Jordan’s as he’s never needed a triangle offense to get teammates involved. Blatt’s reasoning doesn’t exactly hold up, but it sure makes for one hell of a quote.

It’s LeBron James’ World, We’re Just Living in It

Back to 2015. Blatt didn’t last another full season with the Cleveland Cavaliers because of “lack of fit with our personnel and our vision,” as per David Griffin, the Cavs’ GM. LeBron, meanwhile, powered the Cavs to a historic 3-1 Finals comeback later that year. It also raises the bigger question: how much is too much when a star overrides a coach? For some, it’s insubordination. For others, it’s leadership defined.

Chris Haynes didn’t paint it as malicious in his conversation with EssentiallySports. He painted it as LeBron being LeBron. “LeBron felt it was necessary and needed to let everybody know, that play that y’all praised him for, that wasn’t the play [Blatt] tried to call.” In other words, he wasn’t hiding it. He was owning it. And that ownership is why his words land differently.

LeBron leaned in. He chose transparency, even if it embarrassed his coach, who, by the way, Tyronn Lue then replaced. It’s the kind of directness that leaves journalists in the room stunned and fans at home replaying quotes like game highlights. The larger takeaway, though?

From outsmarting David Blatt in Cleveland by hijacking a final play, to reportedly quietly defying Luke Walton on the Lakers, to asserting control even under Darvin Ham, he’s made a habit of bending the court to his will. Wins pile up, but coaches quickly learn that managing LeBron is about surviving his courtroom, where the King’s word often trumps the clipboard. But to JJ Redick’s favor, his relationship with James seems to be going pretty well, so far.

Because this is how players in the NBA sculpt legacies. Through shots and wins, yes, but also through moments when the mask comes off. Haynes didn’t just remember the jumper. He remembered the silence after LeBron’s admission, the shift in tone, that collective gasp.

Because in that silence, the balance of power in Cleveland was exposed in real time.

Nearly a decade later, that press conference remains a case study in superstar gravity. LeBron James wasn’t just the hardest-working player Chris Haynes ever covered. He was also the most willing to let you see how the sausage gets made, even if it meant pulling a coach’s blueprint into the spotlight.

And in the end, history didn’t care how the play was drawn. It only remembered who took the shot.