Great Basketball Quotes

• Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  Essays "Circles" (1841)

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• 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

  39 Copy quote

• You can't let praise or criticism get to you. It's a weakness to get caught up in either one.

  John Wooden

  Inspirational, Basketball, Motivational Sports

  "The Wizard's wisdom: 'Woodenisms'", www.espn.com. June 4, 2010.

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• Winning is about having the whole team on the same page.

  Bill Walton

  Motivational, Basketball, Sports

  58 Copy quote

• Don't measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished with your ability.

  John Wooden

  Life, Motivational, Positive

  Fellowship of Christian Athletes, John Wooden (2010). “The Greatest Coach Ever: Timeless Wisdom and Insights of John Wooden”, p.101, Gospel Light Publications

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• If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. I'm positive that a doer makes mistakes.

  John Wooden

  Life, Positive, Basketball

  "The Wizard's wisdom: 'Woodenisms'", www.espn.com. June 4, 2010.

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• What distinguishes a great player is his presence. When he goes on to the court, his presence dominates the atmosphere.

  Bill Russell

  Basketball, Player, Nba

  71 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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  Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.

  Phil Jackson

  Basketball, Teamwork, Sports

  289 Copy quote
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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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• When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.

  Larry Bird

  Inspirational, Basketball, Dream

  26 Copy quote

• It's not how big you are, it's how big you play.

  John Wooden

  Basketball, Play, Bigs

  "How (and why) position-less lineups have taken over the NBA playoffs" by Ian McMahan, www.theguardian.com. May 1, 2018.

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• Basketball is a game that gives you every chance to be great, and puts every pressure on you to prove that you haven't got what it takes. It never takes away the chance, and it never eases up on the pressure.

  Bob Sundvold

  Inspirational, Basketball, Games

  46 Copy quote
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  What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.

  Dean Smith

  Inspiring, Basketball, Sports

  76 Copy quote

• A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play.

  Mike Krzyzewski

  Basketball, Team, Hands

  "Duke of the Court". Interview, www.achievement.org. May 22, 1997.

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• It doesn't matter who scores the points, it's who can get the ball to the scorer.

  Larry Bird

  Basketball, Winning, Balls

  62 Copy quote

• One man cannot make a team.

  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

  Motivational, Basketball, Sports

  24 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

• Any American boy can be a basketball star if he grows up, up, up.

  Bill Vaughan

  Funny, Basketball, Stars

  8 Copy quote

• Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.

  John Wooden

  Inspirational, Life, Motivational

  "This Speech Was Given Before The #4Women4AllWomen Run" by Powdered Feet, womensrunning.competitor.com. January 25, 2017.

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• 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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• Be more concerned with your character than your reputation.

  John Wooden

  Basketball, Motivational Sports, Character

  Andrew Hill, John Wooden (2002). “Be Quick - But Don't Hurry: Finding Success in the Teachings of a Lifetime”, p.114, Simon and Schuster

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• They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds.

  Winston Churchill

  Inspirational, Motivational, Basketball

  41 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

  102 Copy quote

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  Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.

  John Wooden

  Inspirational, Motivational, Positive

  "The Wizard's wisdom: 'Woodenisms'", www.espn.com. June 4, 2010.

  96 Copy quote

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