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- “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
- “Make each day your masterpiece.” Coach John Wooden
- “There are 86,400 seconds in a day. It’s up to you to decide what to do with them.” Jim Valvano
- “If you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else will.” Kobe Bryant
- “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
- “I always keep a ball in the car. You never know.” Hakeem Olajuwon
- “Be a dreamer. If you don’t know how to dream, you’re dead.” Jim Valvano
- “What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player.” Coach John Wooden
- “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
- “Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise.” Michael Jordan
- “I believe you win games by what you do from your first practice until your first game.” Dr. Jack Ramsay
- “I go to sleep every single night thinking I’m not good enough. I really do. I don’t know if that’s healthy or not. But I really do have a fear of not being good, and I don’t like that.” Diana Taurasi
- “Everybody is responsible for their own actions. It’s easy to point the finger at somebody else, but a real man, a real woman, a real person knows when it’s time to take the blame and when to take responsibility for their own actions.” Marcus Smart
- “I can distribute, I can lock up on defense.” Jrue Holiday
- “You play with a pure heart and a clear conscience and a clear soul, then good things happen.” Fred VanVleet
- Sometimes that light at the end of the tunnel is a train. Charles Barkley
- “Bad shooters are always open.” Pete Carril
- “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” Jerry West
- “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
- “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.“ Tim “The Big Fundamental” Duncan
- “Be led by your dreams not by your problems.” Roy Williams
- “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
- “My belief is stronger than your doubt.” Dwyane Wade
- “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
- “All the successful teams I’ve ever seen have three characteristics: They play unselfish, they play together, and they play hard.“ Larry Brown
- “Teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one.” Mike Krzyzewski
- “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
- “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
- “Do the little things right to reach the big goals.” Tom Izzo
- “If you’re not talking, you’re not playing defense.” Doc Rivers
- “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
- “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
- “We believe in people executing their role and caring about the team more than anything individually.” Gregg Popovich
- “It’s OK to make mistakes. That’s how we learn. When we compete, we make mistakes.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- “You have a choice to make when you’re not playing. Either you’re invested and a great teammate, or you’re not.” Brad Stevens
- “Every morning you have two choices: continue to sleep with your dreams, or wake up and chase them.” Carmelo Anthony
- “Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.” Scottie Pippen
- “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
- “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
- “My most prized possession was my library card from the Oakland Public Library.” Bill Russell
- “Everything negative — pressure, challenges — are all an opportunity for me to rise.“ Kobe Bryant
- “If I am through learning, I am through.” Coach John Wooden
- “The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” Bob Knight
- “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” John Wooden
- “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
- “Great effort springs naturally from great attitude.” Pat Riley
- “Winning is overemphasized. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war.” Al McGuire
- “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.” Shaquille O’Neal
- “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” Kevin Durant
- “You can’t always be the most talented or gifted person in the room, but you can be the most competitive.“ Pat Summit
- “Every season is a journey. Every journey is a lifetime.” Mike Krzyzewski
- “There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does.” Dean Smith
- “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!“ Charles Barkley “The Round Mound of Rebound”
- “I just hope to make a difference.” Tim Duncan
- “Not only is there more to life than basketball, there’s a lot more to basketball than basketball.” Phil Jackson
- “In developing teams, I don’t believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don’t promote teamwork, standards do.” Mike Krzyzewski
- “Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.“ Magic Johnson
- “It is foolish to expect a young man to follow your advice and to ignore your example.” Don Meyer
- “Young men need more models, not critics.” John Wooden (John Wooden Quotes)
- “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
- “It takes three things to be a ‘special’ player: talent, character, and competitive fire.” Kevin Eastman
- “Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.” Bill Russell
- “If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.” 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
- “Those to whom defense is not important will have the best seat in the game.” Rick Majerus
- “I’ve got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” Larry Bird “The Hick from French Lick” (Larry Bird Quotes)
- “We want men here, not just players. Players are a dime a dozen” Tom Izzo
- “Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” Bill Russell (Top 6 Bill Russell Quotes)
- “Preparation will be my separation.” Kevin Eastman
- “I’m still waiting for perfection. In the meantime, I’ll settle for persistence.” Bo Ryan
- “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
- “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
- “No matter what, no matter how I feel, I always bring effort.” Draymond Green
- “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
- “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
- “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
- “Winners are not people who do not fail, but people who never quit.“ Anonymous
- “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
- “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)
- “Trust The Process.” Joel Embiid
- “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
- “My confidence level never varies.” Trae Young
- “I don’t let the pressure get to me. I embrace it and use it as motivation.” – Luka Doncic
- “If it turns out that my best wasn’t good enough, at least I won’t look back and say that I was afraid to try.” Michael Jordan
- “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
- “Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” Michael Jordan
- “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
- “One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- “I think, team first. It allows me to succeed, it allows my team to succeed.“ Lebron James
- “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
- “Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.” Bill Russell
- “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
- “It’s not about proving them wrong. It’s about proving myself right.” Jimmy Butler
- “I’m not afraid of anything.” Jayson Tatum
- “Despite the fear, finish the job.” Kobe Bryant
- “Never let fear hold you back from pursuing your dreams.” Candace Parker
- “It’s a collective effort.” Nikola Jokic
- “It comes down to preparation.” Damian Lillard
- “Be yourself. It’s the most important part of anything that you do.” Russell Westbrook
- “I don’t play to sweat, I play to win.” Kevin Garnett
- “The most important thing is team morale.” Dean Smith
- “With the absence of pressure, it’s hard to do great things.” Geno Auriemma
- “If you have a dream, chase it no matter what it takes.” James Harden
- “Everything is habit forming, so make sure what you do is what you want to be doing.” Wilt Chamberlain
- “I wouldn’t limit myself to nothing. I feel like I am limitless.” Devin Booker
- “I treated it like every day was my last day with a basketball.” LeBron James
- “I never let anybody else put limits on my game.” Ja Morant
- “Make it happen.” Michael Jordan
- “Most of basketball is in the mind. But it helps to have big hands.” Scottie Pippen
- “I got the ‘sky’s the limit’ tattoo, so it’s for sure that.” Lamelo Ball
- “Winning is motivation.” Kawhi Leonard
- “I don’t care if I miss 100 shots in a row. I’m never gonna stop shooting the ball.” Klay Thompson
- “When I set a goal, I work hard to achieve it.” Lisa Leslie
- “The measure of who we are is how we react to something that doesn’t go our way.” Gregg Popovich
- “If you’re going to have to beg them to play, it’s not going to work.” Chuck Daly
- “I am because we are.” Doc Rivers
- “The best teams play for each other, not with each other.” Jeff Van Gundy
- “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
- “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
- “Your biggest opponent isn’t the other guy. It’s human nature.” Derek Fisher
- “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
- “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.
- “Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.“ Magic Johnson