LeBron James hit a game-winner against the Chicago Bulls, but if Cleveland Cavaliers head coach David Blatt had his way, James never would've gotten the ball. James says the initial play called for him to serve as the inbounder -- but he wanted the shot.
LeBron James rejected David Blatt’s play call, asked for the ball on game-winning shot
Coach LeBron made the key play call for the Cavs.
LeBron James' full explanation of how he overruled coach David Blatt on the final play of Game 4 win over Bulls pic.twitter.com/aDXjgmbzUI
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) May 10, 2015 It was a bad final minute for Blatt -- he also tried to call for a timeout, not realizing the Cavs didn’t have any left.
A March report by ESPN’s Brian Windhorst indicated that LeBron often called plays for the Cavs and Blatt often mimicked James to give the impression that he was making play calls from the sideline, so James’ admission should add some fuel to the fire that he’s really running the show. On the plus side, this should quiet people who insist James is uncomfortable taking late shots in pressure situations.
He's not the first star to shut down his coach on a pivotal late play -- Michael Jordan nixed Doug Collins' play call before drilling the famous shot over Craig Ehlo ... and of course Jimmy Chitwood wasn't too happy with Coach Norman Dale's decision to use him as a decoy.
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