Awesome Basketball Quotes:

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

- Nastia Liukin

source: Twitter post from Jan 3, 2012

topic: Gymnastics, Afraid Of Failure, Deserve, Inspiring Athlete, Coaches And Athletes

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

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

source: Twitter post from Mar 27, 2013

topic: Teamwork, Sports, Athlete, Drills, Inspirational Athlete

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

- Dean Smith

topic: Inspiring, Basketball, Sports, Inspirational Coach, Inspirational Coaching

A guy who gives you less than what he has to give is, one, telling you what he thinks of you, and two, telling you what he thinks of himself.

- Pete Carril

source: Pete Carril, Dan White (2004). “The Smart Take from the Strong: The Basketball Philosophy of Pete Carril”, p.196, U of Nebraska Press

topic: Basketball, Thinking, Two, Good Basketball, Basketball Motivation

We try to stress the little things because little things lead to big things.

- Steve Alford

topic: Basketball, Stress, Coaching, Basketball Coaching, Motivational Basketball

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

topic: Inspirational, Dream, Court, Motivational Basketball, Funny Basketball

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

- John Wooden

topic: Life, Motivational, Positive, Sports Training, Basketball Leadership

If you make every game a life and death proposition, you're going to have problems. For one thing, you'll be dead a lot.

- Dean Smith

topic: Inspirational, Funny, Basketball, Best Coaches, Basketball Leadership

The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.

- Bill Russell

topic: Basketball, Motivational Sports, Block, Famous Basketball, Player To Coach

A lot of late nights in the gym, a lot of early mornings, especially when your friends are going out, you're going to the gym, those are the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to be an NBA basketball player.

- Jason Kidd

source: FaceBook post by Jason Kidd from Dec 01, 2011

topic: Motivational, Basketball, Morning, Famous Basketball, Basketball Player

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

- John Wooden

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

topic: Life, Positive, Basketball, Sports Coach, Sports Coaching

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

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

topic: Inspirational, Life, Motivational, Favorite Sports, Best Success

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

- John Wooden

topic: Life, Basketball, Motivational Sports, Good Sportsmanship, Motivational Basketball

Coaching is easy. Winning is the hard part.

- Elgin Baylor

topic: Basketball, Winning, Coaching, Winning Basketball, Basketball Player

There is no such thing as life in-between.

- Pat Riley

topic: Motivational, Sports, Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational Coaching, Inspirational Commitment

Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.

- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

topic: Motivational, Basketball, Giving Up, Personal Achievement, Basketball Player

Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise

- Michael Jordan

topic: Basketball, Down And, Fundamentals, Basketball And Life, Basketball Is Life

To do the right thing at the right season is a great art.

- Helio Gracie

topic: Art, Mma, Great Art, Famous Basketball, Winning Losing

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

- Michael Jordan

topic: Basketball, Trying, Achieve, Hurdling Obstacles, Inspirational Adversity

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

- James Naismith

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Basketball, Inspirational Winning, Famous Basketball

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

- Michael Jordan

topic: Motivational, Sports, Figures, Favorite Sports, Inspirational Football

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

- Michael Jordan

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

topic: Running, Wall, Giving Up, Favorite Sports, Inspirational Football

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

topic: Motivational, Basketball, Sports, Dunking, Funny Basketball

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

- Michael Jordan

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Happiness, Improve Self Esteem, Just Believe In Yourself

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

- Jerry Tarkanian

topic: Basketball, Cheer, Crazy, Famous Basketball, Team Player

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

- Jerry West

topic: Inspirational, Motivational, Leadership, Famous Basketball, Motivational Basketball

Basketball doesn't build character it reveals it.

- James Naismith

topic: Basketball, Character, Funny Basketball, Good Basketball, Basketball Motivation

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

- Pat Riley

topic: Inspirational Athlete, Inspirational Coach, Inspirational Commitment, Basketball Coaching, Great Sports

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

- John Wooden

topic: Life, Basketball, Teamwork, Inspirational Coach, Basketball Coaching

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

- Larry Bird

topic: Motivational, Basketball, Athlete, Sports Coach, Give It Your All

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

- Bobby Knight

topic: Basketball, Sports, Athlete, Famous Basketball, Don't Play Games

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

- Phil Jackson

topic: Basketball, Hockey, More To Life, Motivational Basketball, Good Basketball

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

topic: Basketball, Team, Winning, Motivational Basketball, Winning Basketball

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

- Pat Riley

topic: Basketball, Games, Coaching, Basketball Coaching, Good Basketball

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

- Billy Donovan

topic: Basketball, Believe, Winning, Basketball Coaching, Winning Basketball

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

- Larry Bird

topic: Motivational, Basketball, Sports, Give It All You Got, Inspirational Hard Work

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

topic: Life, Motivational, Success, Winning Basketball, Winning Losing