Awesome Basketball Quotes

If you are afraid of failure, you don't deserve success.

Nastia Liukin

Basketball, Sports, Athlete

Twitter post from Jan 3, 2012

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One man cannot make a team.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Motivational, Basketball, Sports

21 Copy quote
What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.

John Wooden

Life, Basketball, Motivational Sports

John Wooden (2013). “Quotes from Coach John Wooden: Winning with Principle”, p.29, B&H Publishing Group

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I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.

Michael Jordan

Inspirational, Life, Motivational

"Nike Culture : The Sign of the Swoosh". Book by Robert Goldman, Stephen Papson (p. 49), 1998.

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Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals.

James Naismith

Inspirational, Motivational, Basketball

57 Copy quote
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

Motivational, Basketball, Sports

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

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If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it.

Michael Jordan

Motivational, Basketball, Running

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

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

Jerry West

Inspirational, Life, Motivational

78 Copy quote
A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.

John Wooden

Life, Basketball, Teamwork

John Wooden (2013). “Quotes from Coach John Wooden: Winning with Principle”, p.88, B&H Publishing Group

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You don't play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball.

Bobby Knight

Basketball, Sports, Athlete

17 Copy quote
Basketball doesn't build character it reveals it.

James Naismith

Basketball, Character, Inspirational Basketball

77 Copy quote
One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Basketball, Teamwork, Sports

Twitter post from Mar 27, 2013

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Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.

Red Auerbach

Motivational, Basketball, Sports

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There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out.

Pat Riley

Inspirational, Basketball, Sports

101 Copy quote
Push yourself again and again. Don't give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.

Larry Bird

Motivational, Basketball, Sports

121 Copy quote
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

Inspirational, Life, Motivational

388 Copy quote
If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

Michael Jordan

Inspirational, Basketball, Wisdom

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

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You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.

Michael Jordan

Inspirational, Motivational, Happiness

82 Copy quote
The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy.

Jerry Tarkanian

Basketball, Sports, Teamwork

57 Copy quote
In all the research you do as a coach, studying other coaches and championship-type situations, you find that all those teams combined talent with great defense. You've got to stop other teams to win.

Pat Riley

Basketball, Team, Winning

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Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.

Phil Jackson

Inspirational, Basketball, Sports

26 Copy quote
I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Life, Motivational, Success

38 Copy quote
It's what you get from games you lose that is extremely important.

Pat Riley

Basketball, Games, Coaching

9 Copy quote
Systems win! Believe in your system, and then sell it to your players.

Billy Donovan

Basketball, Believe, Player

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I've got a theory that if you give 100% all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.

Larry Bird

Motivational, Basketball, Sports

103 Copy quote