Famous Basketball Quotes - Page 2

• You can't get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.

  Jerry West

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  87 Copy quote

• I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.

  Michael Jordan

  Success, Basketball, Inspirational Sports

  11 Copy quote

• It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.

  John Wooden

  Motivational, Inspiring, Graduation

  John Wooden (2013). “Quotes from Coach John Wooden: Winning with Principle”, p.160, B&H Publishing Group

  100 Copy quote

  Show source

• I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.
  Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.
  I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying.

  Michael Jordan

  Basketball, People, Wish

  10 Copy quote

• You can run a lot of plays when your X is twice as big as the other guys' O. It makes your X's and O's pretty good.

  Paul Westphal

  Inspirational, Basketball, Running

  25 Copy quote

• The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need.

  James Naismith

  Basketball, Needs, Invention

  79 Copy quote

• If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them

  Michael Jordan

  Basketball, Nba, Trying

  Michael Jordan (1994). “I can't accept not trying: Michael Jordan on the pursuit of excellence”

  13 Copy quote

  Show source

• You play with your soul as well as your body.

  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

  Basketball, Athlete, Play

  "Ironman champ: Train your brain, then your body" by Chrissie Wellington, www.cnn.com. February 21, 2012.

  7 Copy quote

  Show source

• To win, you've got to put the ball in the macramé.

  Terry McGuire

  Inspirational, Basketball, Winning

  7 Copy quote

• Do your best when no one is looking.

  Bob Cousy

  Basketball, Nba Player, Good Basketball

  12 Copy quote

• A Coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with authority.

  John Wooden

  Basketball, Nba, Leader

  7 Copy quote

• I think that the team that wins game five will win the series. Unless we lose game five.

  Charles Barkley

  Funny, Basketball, Team

  7 Copy quote

• The first time I shot the hook, I was in fourth grade, and I was about five feet eight inches tall. I put the ball up and felt totally at ease with the shot. I was completely confident it would go in. I've been shooting it ever since.

  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

  Basketball, Eight, Feet

  7 Copy quote

• People ask me if I could fly, I said, 'yeah....' for a little while.

  Michael Jordan

  Inspirational, Basketball, Nba

  23 Copy quote

• My heroes are and were my parents. I can't see having anyone else as my heroes.

  Michael Jordan

  Basketball, Sports, Hero

  26 Copy quote

• I would tell players to relax and never think about what's at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you've lost your focus.

  Michael Jordan

  Inspirational, Basketball, Winning

  11 Copy quote

• I know the Virginia players are smart because you need a 1500 SAT to get in. I have to drop bread crumbs to get our players to and from class

  George Raveling

  Basketball, Smart, Silly

  6 Copy quote

• Defense doesn't break down on the help, it breaks down on the recovery.

  Chuck Daly

  Basketball, Recovery, Coaching

  15 Copy quote

• Don't do anything as an individual that will make you stand out from your teammates.

  Mike Krzyzewski

  Basketball, Coaching, Teammate

  6 Copy quote

• Shout praise and whisper criticism.

  Don Meyer

  Basketball, Coaching, Criticism

  17 Copy quote

• If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you. You haven't done much today.

  Mikhail Gorbachev

  Basketball, Running, Yesterday

  Mikhail Sergeevich Gorbachev, Green Cross International (2011). “Mikhail Gorbachev: Prophet of Change : from the Cold War to a Sustainable World”, p.322, CLAIRVIEW BOOKS

  116 Copy quote

  Show source

• Other people go to the office. I get to coach. I know I've been blessed.

  Jim Valvano

  Basketball, Motivational Sports, Blessed

  13 Copy quote

• Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  Essays "Circles" (1841)

  78 Copy quote

  Show source

• Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.

  Rick Pitino

  Basketball, Sports, Nba

  Rick Pitino (1997). “Success is a Choice: Ten Steps to Overachieving in Business and Life”, Broadway

  50 Copy quote

  Show source

• The coach should be the absolute boss, but he still should maintain an open mind.

  Red Auerbach

  Basketball, Sports, Boss

  10 Copy quote