365 Basketball Quotes: Basketball Quote of the Day

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February Quotes

“Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” John Wooden
“Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.” Bill Russell
“You have a choice to make when you’re not playing. Either you’re invested and a great teammate, or your not” Brad Stevens
“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.“ Michael Jordan
“What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.” Bill Russell
“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” Michael Jordan
February 7, 1989 Isaiah Thomas’ (Celtics) Birthday “If all I’m remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I’ve done a bad job with the rest of my life.” Isiah Thomas
February 8, 1990 Klay Thompson’s Birthday: “I don’t care if I miss 100 shots in a row. I’m never gonna stop shooting the ball.” Klay Thompson
“In developing teams, I don’t believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don’t promote teamwork, standards do” Mike Krzyzewski
“Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.” Bill Russell
“Every season is a journey. Every journey is a lifetime.” Mike Krzyzewski
February 12, 1934 Bill Russell’s Birthday: “Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying “We work to become, not to acquire.”” Bill Russell
February 13th, 1947 Mike Krzyzewski’s Birthday “Teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one.” Mike Krzyzewski
“Embrace what makes you different, because being different is what makes you special.” Kevin Love
“You can do anything you want to do if you want it bad enough.” Bill Russell
February 17th, 1963 Michael Jordan’s Birthday: “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.“ Michael Jordan
February 17, 1948 Rick Majerus’ Birthday: “Those to whom defense is not important will have the best seat in the game.” Rick Majerus
“It takes three things to be a ‘special’ player: talent, character, and competitive fire.” Kevin Eastman
February 19, 1995 Nikola Jokić’s Birthday: “It’s a collective effort.” Nikola Jokic
February 20, 1963 Charles Barkley’s Birthday “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!“ Charles Barkley “The Round Mound of Rebound”
February 21, 1925 Dr. Jack Ramsay’s Birthday: “I believe you win games by what you do from your first practice until your first game.” Dr. Jack Ramsay
February 22nd, 1950 Julius “Dr. J” Irving’s Birthday: The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life – mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical. Julius Erving
“I just hope to make a difference.” Tim Duncan
“If I am through learning, I am through.” Coach John Wooden
“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.” Larry Bird
“There are only two options regarding commitment. You’re either in, or you’re out. There’s no such thing as ‘life in-between’.” Pat Riley
“Everyone is born with a certain potential. You may never achieve your full potential, but how close you come depends on how much you want to pay the price.“ Red Auerbach
February 28, 1999 Luka Dončić”s Birthday: “I don’t let the pressure get to me. I embrace it and use it as motivation.” – Luka Doncic
Dean Smith’s Birthday February 28th, 1931 “There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does.” Dean Smith

March Quotes

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.“ Michael Jordan
March 2nd Read Across America Day: “My most prized possession was my library card from the Oakland Public Library.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
“The more concerned we become over the things we can’t control, the less we will do with the things we can control.” John Wooden
March 3, 1998 Jayson Tatum’s Birthday: “I’m not afraid of anything.” Jayson Tatum
March 4, 1990 Draymond Green’s Birthday: “No matter what, no matter how I feel, I always bring effort.” Draymond Green
“I know that I’m never as good or bad as any single performance. I’ve never believed my critics or my worshippers, and I’ve always been able to leave the game at the arena.” Charles Barkley
March 6, 1972 Shaquille O’Neal’s Birthday “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.” Shaquille O’Neal
Jim Valvano’s Birthday March 10, 1946: “There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It’s up to you to decide what to do with them.” Jim Valvano
March 16, 1994 Joel Embiid’s Birthday: “Trust The Process.” Joel Embiid
March 20, 1945 Pat Riley’s Birthday “Great effort springs naturally from great attitude.” Pat Riley
March 23, 1973 Jason Kidd’s Birthday “A lot of people say they want to be great, but they’re not willing to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve greatness.” Jason Kidd
March 23, 1954 Geno Auriemma’s Birthday: “Bottom line, you’re either a risk taker, or you’re not, and if you don’t take risks, you’ll never win big.” Geno Auriemma
“In basketball—as in life—true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way.” Phil Jackson
“Heart is what separates the good from the great.” Michael Jordan
“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” Coach John Wooden
“Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” John Wooden John Wooden
“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” John Wooden
“The only important statistic is the final score.” Bill Russell
“Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don’t feel like doing them.” Julius Erving
“The ‘big time’ is not a place; it’s the state of your heart. It’s not something you get; it’s something you become.” Frosty Westering
“I don’t believe in luck, I believe in preparation.” Bob Knight
“I have a plan of action, but the game is a game of adjustments.” Mike Krzyzewski
“Hard work breeds self-respect.” Coach Pat Summitt
“When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort–it is ready to climb.“ Pat Riley
“Winners are not born, they are self-made.” Coach Pat Summitt
“A key basketball skill is imagery. The best players “see” situations before they happen so they can be prepared.” Dr. Jack Ramsay
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” John Wooden
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” Ann Landers
“There is a direct correlation between the number of ball reversals and defensive breakdowns.” Kevin Eastman
“Always stay true to yourself. Some people will like it, some people won’t. Life goes on.” Carmelo Anthony
“The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.” Charles Barkley
“Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” Michael Jordan

April Quotes

“Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
“We want men here, not just players. Players are a dime a dozen” Tom Izzo
“When I walked into the gym, I fell in love with the game. I didn’t fall in love with it just because it was me playing. I fell in love with it because I’ve got guys like this – like these guys every single day that push me to be the best that I can be.” Kevin Durant
“I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.” Kobe Bryant
“There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself.” Lebron James
“Admit to and make yourself accountable for mistakes. How can you improve if you’re never wrong?” Pat Summitt
“Embrace what makes you different, because being different is what makes you special.” Kevin Love
“The greatness of Michael Jordan is his competitive drive. The weakness of Michael Jordan is his competitive drive.” Phil Jackson
“I can’t stand a ballplayer who plays in fear. Any fellow who has a good shot has got to take it and keep taking it. So he misses – so what?” Red Auerbach
“Never give up. Failure and rejection are just the first steps to succeeding.” Jim Valvano
“If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.” Jim Valvano
“I hate to lose more than I like to win.” Larry Bird
“I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.“ Michael Jordan
“You can’t win unless you learn how to lose.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“Don’t be afraid to fail. Be afraid not to try.” Michael Jordan
“You have to be able to accept failure to get better.” LeBron James
April 16, 1947 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s Birthday “It’s OK to make mistakes. That’s how we learn. When we compete, we make mistakes.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“Despite the fear, finish the job.” Kobe Bryant
“The most important thing is team morale.” Dean Smith
April 19, 1986 Candace Parker’s Birthday: “Never let fear hold you back from pursuing your dreams.” Candace Parker
“With the absence of pressure, it’s hard to do great things.” Geno Auriemma
“I treated it like every day was my last day with a basketball.” LeBron James
“Make it happen.” Michael Jordan
“Most of basketball is in the mind. But it helps to have big hands.” Scottie Pippen
“When I set a goal, I work hard to achieve it.” Lisa Leslie
April 25, 1976 Tim Duncan’s Birthday “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.“ Tim “The Big Fundamental” Duncan
“The measure of who we are is how we react to something that doesn’t go our way.” Gregg Popovich
“One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“I am because we are.” Doc Rivers
“The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals, and you can’t let yourself be beaten because of lack of effort.” Michael Jordan

May Quotes

“Learning is a daily experience and a lifetime mission. I truly believe in the saying “We work to become, not to acquire.”” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
“The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.” Kobe Bryant
“You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed—you’re not gonna succeed all the time, and I know that.” LeBron James
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” Phil Jackson
“There can only be one winner, and the rest are losers, but winners know they are winners before the results are in.” Pat Riley
“They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.” Wilt Chamberlain
“You win by effort, by commitment, by ambition, by quality, by expressing yourself individually but in the team context.” Doc Rivers
“Ask me to steal, block out, sacrifice, lead, dominate, anything. But it’s not what you ask of me; it’s what I ask of myself.” LeBron James
“A team will always appreciate a great individual if he’s willing to sacrifice for the group.” Kareem Abdul Jabbar
“Failure isn’t so bad if it doesn’t attack the heart. Success is all right if it doesn’t go to the head.” Grantland Rice
“No one plays this or any game perfectly. It’s the guy who recovers from his mistakes who wins.” Phil Jackson
“No one is bigger than the team. If you can’t do things our way, you’re not getting time here, and we don’t care who you are.” Gregg Popovich
“Coaches shouldn’t have to push you to work hard. You should push yourself because you want to be a great player.” Bob Knight
“Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.” Phil Jackson
“Your best player has to set a tone of intolerance for anything that gets in the way of winning.” Jeff Van Gundy
“Hey, coach, you better get somebody else out here to guard me because I’m killing this guy.” Larry Bird.
“1. Be on time. 2. Never criticize a teammate. 3. Never use profanity.” John Wooden
“I do not judge success based on championships; rather, I judge it on how close we came to realizing our potential.” John Wooden
“When I played with Michael Jordan on the Olympic team, there was a huge gap between his ability and the ability of the other great players on that team. But what impressed me was that he was always the first one on the floor and the last one to leave.” Steve Alford
May 19, 1976 Kevin Garnett’s Birthday: “I don’t play to sweat, I play to win.” Kevin Garnett
May 28th, 1938 Jerry West’s Birthday: “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” Jerry West
May 29, 1984 Carmelo Anthony’s Birthday “Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them.” Carmelo Anthony
“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” Michael Jordan
“If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” John Wooden

June Quotes

Father’s Day: My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” (Father’s Day Quotes)
June 14, 1952 Pat Summit’s Birthday “You can’t always be the most talented or gifted person in the room, but you can be the most competitive.“ Pat Summit
June 29, 1991 Kawhi Leonard’s Birthday: “Winning is motivation.” Kawhi Leonard

July Quotes

July 7, 1972 Lisa Leslie’s Birthday: “The one thing I learned about myself going back and watching tapes of all the losses that we’ve had is that I’m physically capable of doing this and dominating the game, but the mental part was not there. I don’t know if it comes with age, but I had to learn to be mentally tough.” Lisa Leslie
July 10, 1930 Pete Carril Birthday’s “Bad shooters are always open.” Pete Carril
July 15, 1990 Damian Lillard’s Birthday: “It comes down to preparation.” Damian Lillard
July 20, 1930 Chuck Daly’s Birthday: “If you’re going to have to beg them to play, it’s not going to work.” Chuck Daly
July 30th International Friendship Day: “Friendship is a full-time job.” Bill Russell Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)

August Quotes

August 1st, 1950 Roy Willams’ Birthday: “Be led by your dreams not by your problems.” Roy Williams
August 9, 1974 Derek Fisher’s Birthday: “Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature.” Derek Fisher
August 10, 1999 Ja Morant’s Birthday: “I never let anybody else put limits on my game.” Ja Morant
August 14, 1959 Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Birthday “Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.“ Magic Johnson
“You can do anything you want to do if you want it bad enough.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
August 21, 1936 Wilt Chamberlain’s Birthday: “Everything is habit forming, so make sure what you do is what you want to be doing.” Wilt Chamberlain
LaMelo Ball › Date of birth
August 22, 2001 Lamelo Ball’s Birthday: “I got the ‘sky’s the limit’ tattoo, so it’s for sure that.” Lamelo Ball
August 23, 1978 Kobe Bryant’s Birthday: “If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.” Kobe Bryant
August 26, 1989 James Harden’s Birthday: “If you have a dream, chase it no matter what it takes.” James Harden
August 10, 1999 Ja Morant’s Birthday: “I never let anybody else put limits on my game.”Ja Morant

September Quotes

“The magic to a great meeting is all of the work that’s done beforehand.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
September 7, 1928 Al McGuire’s Birthday “Winning is overemphasized. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war.” Al McGuire
September 14, 1989 Jimmy Butler’s Birthday: “It’s not about proving them wrong. It’s about proving myself right.” Jimmy Butler
September 14th Larry Brown’s Birthday “All the successful teams I’ve ever seen have three characteristics: They play unselfish, they play together, and they play hard.“ Larry Brown
September 17, 1945 Phil Jackson’s Birthday “Not only is there more to life than basketball, there’s a lot more to basketball than basketball.” Phil Jackson
September 19, 1998 Trae Young’s Birthday: “My confidence level never varies.” Trae Young
“My confidence level never varies.” Trae Young
September 20th Red Auerbach’s Birthday “Some say you have to use your five best players, but I found out you win with the five that fit together best as a team.” Red Auerbach
(September 25th) “Winning teams at the NBA level, the college level, and the high school level all play team basketball. Championship teams have five players on the same page at all times.“ Hubie Brown
September 25th Scottie Pippen’s Birthday “Basketball is a lifelong game. You continue to learn from the game day in and day out, and all along the way, you get better.” Scottie Pippen
September 29, 1988 Kevin Durant’s Birthday “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” Kevin Durant

October Quotes

“If you want to be a great shooter from 25 feet, you better be a great shooter from 4 feet first.” Steve Kerr Post: How to Be a Great Basketball Shooter
October 13, 1961 Doc Rivers’ Birthday “If you’re not talking, you’re not playing defense.” Doc Rivers
October 14, 1910 John Wooden’s Birthday: “Make each day your masterpiece.” Coach John Wooden
October 22nd: “My goal is to win the next game one possession at a time. That’s it. I don’t have any other goals.” Brad Stevens
October 25, 1940 Bob Knight’s Birthday “The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” Bob Knight
October 30, 1996 Devin Booker’s Birthday: “I wouldn’t limit myself to nothing. I feel like I am limitless.” Devin Booker

November Quotes

“Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” Bill Russell (Top 6 Bill Russell Quotes)
“I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can’t trust em.” Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
“If you want to be a great shooter from 25 feet, you better be a great shooter from 4 feet first.” Steve Kerr Post: How to Be a Great Basketball Shooter
“The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” Bob Knight
“Shooting percentage is just as much about decision making as it is about technique” Jeff Van Gundy Post: How to Be a Great Basketball Shooter
“You have a choice to make when you’re not playing. Either you’re invested and a great teammate, or your not” Brad Stevens
“It’s a great game because you can’t cheat it. If you don’t practice, the ball doesn’t go in. You can’t cheat it.” Bob Huggins
November 11th Veterans Day: I’m surrounded by nothing but great people. I’ve been blessed with that, so really, I’ve got no choice but to be an all-around good person. Tim Duncan
November 12, 1988 Russell Westbrook’s Birthday: “Be yourself. It’s the most important part of anything that you do.” Russell Westbrook

December Quotes

Jimmy V Week: “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
Jimmy V Week: “Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul.” Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
“We win or the alumni bash in our teeth.” (explaining the dental plan at North Carolina State) Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
“If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”
“Be a dreamer. If you don’t know how to dream, you’re dead.” Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
“There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It’s up to you to decide what to do with them.” Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
Larry Bird’s Birthday (1956) “I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” Larry Bird (Larry Bird Quotes)
“I made a ridiculous statement when I first went to North Carolina State. I said I know basketball down there was like life or death. It was very wrong. It’s more important.” (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
“Why shouldn’t I milk it? We’re an agricultural institution.” (after all his endorsement offers after North Carolina State won the NCAA Tournament) Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
“Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
“Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
“What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
December 16, 1944 Don Meyer’s Birthday “It is foolish to expect a young man to follow your advice and to ignore your example.” Don Meyer
December 30, 1984 LeBron James’s Birthday: “I think, team first. It allows me to succeed, it allows my team to succeed.“ Lebron James

January Quotes

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.“ Tim “The Big Fundamental” DuncanFebruary Quotes
“The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” – Bob Knight (Bob Knight Quotes)
“What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.” John Wooden (John Wooden Quotes)
“I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody – somewhere – was practicing more than me.” Larry Bird (Larry Bird Quotes)
“Winners are not people who do not fail, but people who never quit.“ Anonymous
“If all I’m remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I’ve done a bad job with the rest of my life.” Isiah Thomas
“I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.“ Michael Jordan
“When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort–it is ready to climb.“ Pat Riley
“Everyone is born with a certain potential. You may never achieve your full potential, but how close you come depends on how much you want to pay the price.“ Red Auerbach
January 11th National Milk Day: “Why shouldn’t I milk it? We’re an agricultural institution.” (after all his endorsement offers after North Carolina State won the NCAA Tournament) Jim Valvano (Top 25 Jim Valvano Quotes)
“Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.” Bill Russell (Top 6 Bill Russell Quotes)
“Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.“ Magic Johnson
“Everything negative — pressure, challenges — are all an opportunity for me to rise.“ Kobe Bryant
“Winning teams at the NBA level, the college level, and the high school level all play team basketball. Championship teams have five players on the same page at all times.“ Hubie Brown
“The magic to a great meeting is all of the work that’s done beforehand.” Bill Russell (Bill Russell Quotes)
January 17th, 1982 Dwayne Wade’s Birthday “My belief is stronger than your doubt.” Dwyane Wade
“I’m still waiting for perfection. In the meantime, I’ll settle for persistence.” Bo Ryan
“If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!“ Charles Barkley
January 19, 1962 Jeff Van Gundy’s Birthday: “The best teams play for each other, not with each other.” Jeff Van Gundy
“Preparation will be my separation.” Kevin Eastman
“I’m still waiting for perfection. In the meantime, I’ll settle for persistence.” Bo Ryan
“Shooting percentage is just as much about decision making as it is about technique” Jeff Van Gundy
“Young men need more models, not critics.” John Wooden (John Wooden Quotes)
“If all I’m remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I’ve done a bad job with the rest of my life.” Isiah Thomas
“Teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one.” Mike Krzyzewski
“The one thing I learned about myself going back and watching tapes of all the losses that we’ve had is that I’m physically capable of doing this and dominating the game, but the mental part was not there. I don’t know if it comes with age, but I had to learn to be mentally tough.” Lisa Leslie
“You don’t play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball.” Bobby Knight (Bob Knight Quotes)
“Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.” Scottie Pippen
January 28, 1949 Gregg Popovich’s Birthday “We believe in people executing their role and caring about the team more than anything individually.” Gregg Popovich
January 30, 1955 Tom Izzo’s Birthday: “Do the little things right to reach the big goals.” Tom Izzo
“If you’re not talking, you’re not playing defense.” Doc Rivers
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” Ann Landers