Quotes & Sayings About Basketball

Our guys took Shop and Advanced Shop. Shop is when you make a chair. Advanced Shop is when you paint it. — Al McGuire

The greatest strength any human being an have is to recognize his or her own weaknesses. When you identify your weaknesses, you can begin to remedy them - or at least figure out how to work around them. — Pat Summitt

Help your players to control their emotions - do this through example. — Norm Sloan

The truth of basketball is done in competition and fundamentals and team, but there's a lot of other junk that goes around the game. — George Karl

I'm still the Dun Dada of all big men. — Shaquille O'Neal

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

They took one from us last time, so now we took one from them — Kevin Martin

You don't have to be best friends as basketball players but I do believe in chemistry. I think it makes everything different if a team is really together and they're all on that same page. They might not like each other, per se, but if you're on the same page and the chemistry is there, you can play great basketball. You can go back to teams like Detroit, the Bad Boys. Those guys had great chemistry, that's why they won. — Dwight Howard

I'm not really worried about my numbers now as a 36-year-old. I'm not trying to be the first, experimental case of a 36-year-older trying to maintain his numbers, especially when I'm on a team like this. Can I do the same stuff I could do when I was Amare's age? Of course not. I'm not going to even try. However, I feel that I'm the baddest 36-year-old out there. — Shaquille O'Neal

The two top teams with nice weather and nice people were Dallas and Miami. Of course, the Lakers wouldn't want to trade me in the same conference, so Miami was perfect. — Shaquille O'Neal

After an earthquake in Los Angeles - The earth in LA moved more in one hour than Benoit Benjamin did all last season with the Clippers. — Peter Vecsey

Who is this lady?" he asked me.
"Britomartis," I said. "The Lady of Nets."
Leo looked dubious. "Does that include basketball and the Internet?"
"Just hunting and fishing nets," I said. — Rick Riordan

Football, basketball, and the Olympic sports all have their problems with banned substances. — Jim Sensenbrenner

It's hard to put it in perspective right now. I'm starting to feel a little emotional about what's going to happen Friday night. Getting your number put in the rafters is always something that as a kid ... you dream of seeing happen to you. — Scottie Pippen

I take that as an insult, even at 36. — Shaquille O'Neal

It's all about what they can get out of me. — Dennis Rodman

I hate it. It looks like a stickup at 7-Eleven. Five guys standing there with their hands in the air. — Norm Sloan

Only the strong survive. — Allen Iverson

My father was a basketball player, so I loved basketball because he did. It was a direct transference. But, more than that, basketball, in the United States at least, plays the same function that soccer does everyone else in the world. It's the sport of poverty. It's the sport born of poverty. It's the cheapest sport. — Sherman Alexie

Stand up for your players. Show them you care on and off the court. — Red Auerbach

You can play pickup basketball, but you can't really re-create football. — Peyton Manning

Believe that the loose ball that you are chasing has your name wirtten on it. — Mike Krzyzewski

Offensively, you do what you do best and you do it again and again. Defensively, you attack your opponent's strength. — Vince Lombardi

Baseball, football, basketball - these quintessentially American pastimes are recognizably sports because they involve play: they are games. One plays football, one doesn't play boxing ... The boxing match is the very image, the more terrifying for being so stylized, of mankind's collective aggression; its ongoing historical madness. — Joyce Carol Oates

My mother used to say, 'You gotta exercise.' She would really pound on me to exercise every day. She was very physically fit; she was on the basketball team in high school in St. Louis in the 1920s, when women didn't do that. And she taught me to play tennis, taught me to walk and run, and I ran for 30 years pretty religiously. — Dick Gephardt

It's LeBron's team. He's the captain. This is the time in my career where I can fit in. I'm now in the security business. My job is to protect the King, and that's what I'm here to do. — Shaquille O'Neal

I grew up playing sports, football, basketball, baseball, everything, and acting was such a different environment and different world for me. — Cam Gigandet

Those who work the hardest are the last to surrender. — Rick Pitino

Radical Edwards's profile? He's a seven-foot tall ex-basketball pro hindu guru drag-queen alien.
-Jet Black, from the Cowboy Bebop anime script — Keiko Nobumoto

I don't think you can explain why all these other sports and college basketball have a fair representation of African American coaches, but college football doesn't. You can dig and scramble and scratch, but at the end of the day I think it's just pure, old-fashioned racism. — Frank Deford

Every little kid that steps on the court or the field has aspirations to go pro. I think being a pro basketball player is the best job. The thing I had to realize was that I can't do every dream that I have. — Brian McKnight

As you keep shooting the ball, you become a better basketball player. — Raekwon

I'm playing the guys who are going to fight. If you're not into this, I'm going to someone else — John Calipari

I'm looking for activity. I put players in and take them out based on effort and defense, not making or missing shots — Doc Rivers

I'm a big competitor. — Kevin Durant

I'm not going to lie. I check the iTunes charts. It's all about the iTunes charts. I only go on the Internet for the iTunes charts and basketball blogs. — Nate Ruess

As all of us with any involvement in sports knows, no two umpires or no two referees have the same strike zone or call the same kind of a basketball game. — Herb Kohl

The Big Cactus. I will stick you. — Shaquille O'Neal

I think we have our sports within our own culture that are huge with baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. Those are the sports in America that we grow up with and soccer isn't really there yet. — Claudio Reyna

We may not be the best conditioned team in the country, but our players think they are. — John Wooden

If every basketball player worked as hard as I did, I'd be out of a job — Steve Nash

So what if you fail? At least you'll know what not to do when you try again. — Venus Williams

Like life, basketball is messy and unpredictable. It has its way with you, no matter how hard you try to control it. The trick is to experience each moment with a clear mind and open heart. When you do that, the game - and life - will take care of itself. — Phil Jackson

And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight - I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub - there were things that I liked about it. — Julius Erving

Growing up, my parents were very, very strict. And then I went to UCLA with John Wooden, who was just off the charts. — Bill Walton

When a player keeps a calm demeanor on the court, it's easier for his ability to shine. The best response to an opposing player's physical or psychological tactics is to keep cool and come right back at him with the force of your game, not your fists. Revenge is always sweeter if your team wins the game. — Walt Frazier

Sometimes the basketball gods don't allow the ball to bounce your way .. — Jon-Robert Holden

I have always maintained that in basketball the importance of the mental to the physical is about four to one. — Bobby Knight

When I'm in Miami I like to go and watch basketball, the Miami Heat. — Andy Murray

I really do miss playing basketball. I don't play a lot of pick-up games. But I do like using basketball as a form of cross training. — Jackie Joyner-Kersee

I can appect failure, but I cannot accept not trying. — Michael Jordan

It gave me a shock. A sudden shock of indescribable pain, like when you're a kid, and you're hit on the nose with a basketball on a cold morning, and you cannot believe how much it hurts, and your friends all laugh and you want your mother so bad. — Liane Moriarty

Losing is only temporary and not encompassing. You must simply study it, learn from it, and try hard not to lose the same way again. Then you must have the self-control to forget about it. — John Wooden

It's superb, definitely. Something that is new to me, that is shocking. I got the news last night about 3 in the morning, and I don't think I even went back to bed. — Scottie Pippen

I'm probably going to have to go with Kobester. He's an assassin with LeBron coming right after. — Shaquille O'Neal

Going in, you want to play a perfect season and play throughout the whole entire season, but injuries are a part of basketball. — Kyrie Irving

When you're a coach you've got to go up the ladder, you've got to be ready to travel. That's the nature of coaching — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

I don't put pressure on myself. When I put pressure on myself, then I just play bad. When I play bad, my team plays bad. — Carmelo Anthony

Don't be just another guy going down the street and going nowhere. — Al McGuire

Among other things, neuroplasticity means that emotions such as happiness and compassion can be cultivated in much the same way that a person can learn through repetition to play golf and basketball or master a musical instrument, and that such practice changes the activity and physical aspects of specific brain areas. — Andrew Weil

The liturgy is the place where we wait for Jesus to show up. We don't have to do much. The liturgy is not an act of will. It is not a series of activities designed to attain a spiritual mental state. We do not have to apply will pressure. To be sure, like basketball or football, it is something that requires a lot of practice
its rhythms do not come naturally except to those who have been rehearsing them for years. On some Sundays the soul will indeed battle to even pay attention. In the normal course of worship, we do not have to conjure up feelings or a devotional mood; we are not required to perform the liturgy flawlessly. Such anxious effort ... blind us to what is really going on.
We do have to show up, and we cannot leave early. But if we will dwell there, remain in place, wait patiently, Jesus will show up. — Mark Galli

I like low-maintenance girls, but at the same time, classy. She needs to take care of herself. But also be a girl who isn't afraid to get sweaty and play basketball, so it's cool if she's a tomboy. — Chris Brown

And I didn't fall in love with the game of basketball just because it was me playing. I fell in love with it Because I got guys like this, Like these guys every single day That push me to be the best player I can be. — Kevin Durant

It is foolish to expect a young man to follow your advice and to ignore your example. — Don Meyer

You have to be wired a certain way to be a professional basketball player, and the way my body grew, something happened genetically that allowed me to become a lot more explosive. — Jeremy Lin

A fierce hatred of embarrassment ruled a surprising amount of the life of Moses Malone, the Hall of Fame basketball center. — Joseph Bottum

It's a luxury to play. I get to play basketball for a living. I'm a lucky guy and I'm thankful for everything I have and what I get to do. I realize how many people would give their left foot to just play one game in the NBA. This is the NBA! — Chris Bosh

As I walked inside, she turned around and headed for the end of the bed. Then she paused and turned to face me. She was wearing her Orchard Hill basketball T-shirt and sweatpants and she looked tired, but beautiful. — Kieran Scott

I wouldn't. I would just go home. I'd fake an injury or something. — Shaquille O'Neal

Your best players have to unite and inspire the group ... otherwise, they'll divide the group — Jeff Van Gundy

I tried golf for a while, but I wasn't very good at it, so I didn't play a lot of golf. I enjoy all sports, not just football. I like basketball, baseball, and I got into the World Cup. So really, sports in general are my life, and football specifically. — John Madden

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

Back in East St. Louis, tennis wasn't the real thing. If you weren't playing baseball, basketball, football, you were kind of on the outside. — Jimmy Connors

The business always gets in the way of basketball. — Jason Kidd

You can't let nobody run your train. — LeBron James

Championship teams are built on being prepared, playing unselfishly and being held accountable — Jason Kidd

I know there are expectations, but I don't let them affect mt game. I just play basketball. — Seimone Augustus

I expect us to be good; very good. I expect us to first and foremost be better than we were last year and get back to having this franchise as one of the premier franchises on and off the court, and I think we have the opportunity to do that this upcoming season. I really believe that. — Grant Hill

You want to do Olympics just like you do a pro football game or a basketball game? Be my guest. Watch it all fade away. — Dick Ebersol

Magic is who I am on the basketball court. Earvin is who I am. — Magic Johnson

You don't get respect for being an Asian-American basketball player in the U.S. — Jeremy Lin

It's my experience that people rise to the level of their own expectations and of the competition they seek out. — Pat Summitt

We don't have selfish guys here, which sometimes leads to problems. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

To be successful you need to have good, happy Players. — Norm Sloan

Once you've done the mental work, there comes a point you have to throw yourself into the action and put your heart on the line. That means not only being brave, but being compassionate towards yourself, your teammates and your opponents. — Phil Jackson

I caught an elbow playing basketball — Michael Scofield

On the other hand, she never looked as -big- as she did at that moment.
"What?" Rose demanded, glaring up at him.
The warning signal flashed bright red in Kane's head. Telling a woman she was as big as a beach ball wouldn't win any points. How did one describe how she looked? A basketball? Volleyball? He studied her furious little face. Yeah. He was in big trouble no matter what he said. Description was out of the question. He needed diplomacy, something that flew out of the window when he was near her and she said the words like contractions. — Christine Feehan

I'll take the contract. He can have the team. — Herbert Kohl

I'm playing against great players, playing against the best in the world. The competition-that's what I've always wanted. — Kobe Bryant

We're all about trying to teach the kids life through basketball. — Ving Rhames

There are times when my passion for basketball led me into confrontations that I could have handled a lot better. I've always been too confrontational, especially when I know I'm right. — Bobby Knight

I'm mainstream. Always have been. — Bill Walton

I like to describe my life as a black hole with a little light out there. — Dennis Rodman

I'm the girl who's like, 'Why wear heels when I can wear tennis shoes and be comfortable?' I've always been the girl who's like, 'Let's go play basketball.' — Kyla Pratt

To me, the big thing in being a successful team is repetition of what you're doing, either by word of mouth, blackboard, or specifically by work on the field. You repeat, repeat, repeat as a unit. — Vince Lombardi

I'm just a seasonal guy. Basketball, football, baseball, boxing, golf. Give it to me all the time. — Jerry Ferrara

The players have no real self-esteem when it comes to putting the best image out there in a real competitive fashion. — Oscar Robertson

All I know is, as long as I led the Southeastern Conference in scoring, my grades would be fine. — Charles Barkley

We want stuff done right. As long as it's my team, I'll voice my opinion. Yep, it's my team. You media guys might give it to him, like you've given him everything else his whole lifetime, but this is the Diesel's ship. And if we're not right, I'm going to go out there and try to get it right ... Just ask Karl and Garywhy they wanted to come here. It was because of one person, not two. One. — Shaquille O'Neal

I was always chasing Taylor, trying to keep up with him. — Blake Griffin