Basketball Ball Quotes & Sayings

Defense is one man guarding the ball and four others helping him — Mike Krzyzewski

I love sharing the ball with my teammates. I see a lot of things before my teammates see them. — LeBron James

On the best tactic when playing alongside Kareem Abdul-Jabbar- Just give him the ball. — Magic Johnson

I lick my fingers because I don't like when my hands get slick. Licking my fingers helps me keep a good grip on the ball. — Steve Nash

I'm a cop, and cops talk. They called me the day he did it, but did you ever hear me say anything about it? I played ball, because that's how I am. I'm true. — Shaquille O'Neal

Basketball Rule #1

In this game of life
your family is the court
and the ball is your heart.
No matter how good you are,
no matter how down you get,
always leave
your heart
on the court. — Kwame Alexander

Once practice starts, we work hard, and that's the best conditioning there is. Everything counts. Every little thing counts. Run hard, play hard, go after the ball hard, guard hard. If you play soft (what I call signing a 'non-aggression pact' with your teammates), you won't ever get into shape. — Pete Carril

I was a kid who loved to play games. Any kind of game, any kind of ball. Give me a baseball, give me a basketball, give me something I can bounce and throw. — Terry Bradshaw

Basketball Rule #9

When the game is on
the line,
don't fear.
Grab the ball.
Take it
to the hoop. — Kwame Alexander

I was always making decisions and they were easier decisions because I had control of the game, I had control of the ball. As a coach you sort of put the ball in other player's hands and let them make decisions for you. But I still get a kick out of winning basketball games and that's what I'm in this for. — Larry Bird

My father made me who I am. He gave me a basketball and told me to play with the ball, sleep with the ball, dream with the ball. Just don't take it to school. I used it as a pillow, and it never gave me a stiff neck. — Shaquille O'Neal

With 'Love & Basketball,' I played ball my whole life and did track at UCLA. So, I'm an athlete. And it was very important for me to get it right. I started with casting: As an athlete, there's nothing worse for me than watching a sports movie and the woman that they hire can't run or can't shoot. It sets women's sports back years. — Gina Prince-Bythewood

I believe in the basics: attention to, and perfection of, tiny details that might be commonly overlooked. They may seem trivial, perhaps even laughable to those who don't understand, but they aren't. They are fundamental to your progress in basketball, business, and life. They are the difference between champions and near champions.
For example, at the first squad meeting each season, held two weeks before our first actual practice, I personally demonstrated how I wanted players to put on their socks each and every time: Carefully roll the socks down over the toes, ball of the foot, arch and around the heel, then pull the sock up snug so there will be no wrinkles of any kind. — John Wooden

About the time you think you are getting to know the moves in this game, someone comes along and does everything but undress you on the basketball floor. Standing there under the basket with your hands cupped - and finding that you don't have the ball in them - is a great little old leveler. — Tom Heinsohn

No player in the NBA was born wanting to play basketball. The desire to play ball or to read must be planted. The last 25 years of research show that reading aloud to a child is the oldest, cheapest and must successful method of instilling that desire. Shooting baskets with a child creates a basketball player; reading to a child creates a reader. — Jim Trelease

I believe that good defense embodies seven cardinal principle: reduce the number of your opponent's shots; force your opponent into low percentage shots; control everything within 18 feet; eliminate second shots; no easy baskets; point the ball on all long shots; and prevent the ball from going into the pivot man. — Adolph Rupp

With a versatile player, there's no spot on the court you can't pass him the ball. You can do anything. — Kevin Durant

I have to tell you, I'm proudest of my life off the court. There will always be great basketball players who bounce that little round ball, but my proudest moments are affecting people's lives, effecting change, being a role model in the community. — Magic Johnson

I dribbled by the hour with my left hand when I was young. I didn't have full control, but I got so I could move the ball back and forth from one hand to the other without breaking the cadence of my dribble. I wasn't dribbling behind my back or setting up any trick stuff, but I was laying the groundwork for it. — Bob Cousy

Shot fakes and ball fakes work. No one uses more than Wisconsin. It's amazing how many people don't use them — Bo Ryan

I started playing ball when I was 13 and a half. Before that, I just wanted to play football and baseball but I kept growing so I figured it was time for basketball. — Moses Malone

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

We'd taken up our positions on the benches between the school hall and a newly-installed outdoor basketball court. Being hip-hoppers, we were obliged to be obsessed with basketball. None of us had a ball. — Nikesh Shukla

Offense at Indiana is not equal opportunity. Those players who shoot best are going to shoot most. It is important that every player know his offensive limitations. It is also important that a player know who the best shooter is on the team. When a passer has the option of passing to two players, I expect him to get the ball to the best shooter. I continually stop practice and ask players who the best shooter is and I expect them to know. It is important that you get the ball to your best shooter. — Bobby Knight

I can score the basketball, but I think I can pass pretty well or I can make the correct pass. I'm not the type of guy who's just going to throw the ball inbounds to a guy who's wide open. I can make the right pass. — Kevin Durant

I'm laid back, I take my time, get the job done. Lebron is high flying, dunking, passing the ball well. He's getting the job done, too. But we're different. — Carmelo Anthony

I think when I was about 12 or 13, my dad started taking me out to the local golf course, and that's the first time I ever hit a golf ball. I picked it up pretty quickly, just kind of monkey-see, monkey-do. But when I was 12, golf was so slow to me. For me, it was basketball, girls and music. — Justin Timberlake

I don't get it. Basketball is so supremely boring. I can't understand the point of watching ten giants running from one end of the field
court
to the other throwing an orange ball through a hoop in the air. I guess it's better than golf, but so is watching paint dry. — Carter Quinn

In evaluating the way in which ball possessions are gained during the course of a game, we find that 60 to 80 percent of the possessions are gained by rebounding and after an opponent's score. Twenty percent come from opponents's error, and only 5 percent of the possessions come from steals and interceptions. A study of the way ball possessions are gained makes it seem highly impractical to base pressure defense on interceptions and steals. — Ralph Miller

Driving Horace and Margot smoothly to the Armory, the new cabdriver thought about basketball.
Why do they always applaud the man who makes the shot?
Why don't they applaud the ball?
It is the ball that actually goes into the net.
The man doesn't go into the net.
Never have I seen a man going into the net. — Donald Barthelme

I disobeyed a basic basketball rule and never boxed out. I figured that if I had the inside position I had enough of an advantage to just go get the ball. And coaches left me alone because I got it. — Dolph Schayes

We're out playing ball in the gym, I put boogers on the basketball and pass it to him. — Biz Markie

Football, you can go out and buy a football and play it in your backyard. Basketball, you can go out and play it in the schoolyard or in your driveway. Baseball, you get a glove and a bat and a ball and you go out and play in the neighborhood. You can't do that in hockey. — Jeremy Roenick

I didn't know anything about acting, I didn't know anything about theater, but I was just an exceptional student at high school. I wanted to play ball; I'm going after a basketball scholarship and be a doctor. I got injured and my marks began to drop. — Louis Gossett Jr.

Want to go upstairs and play ball?"
"Now, you're talking. Naked basketball. Always my favorite."
"Loser gets fucked first."
"Jesus, Thursday, every time you set that rule you cheat."
"What do you mean, I cheat? I usually lose."
"That's exactly what I mean. — Mercy Celeste

What is so fascinating about sitting around watching a bunch of pituitary cases stuff a ball through a hoop? — Woody Allen

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

I was a roving guard on the Lowell Hebrew Community Center's girls' basketball team all through high school. My specialty was stealing the ball, but my only shot was a lay-up. — Elinor Lipman

Quickness more than anything else should determine your amount of pressure on the ball. — Don Meyer

I can shoot a three pointer in basketball, and I can kick a soccer ball. — Christopher Mintz-Plasse

In going for the last shot of the game most people wait too long to take the shot. Give yourself a chance to get the first shot and tap the ball in. Your players are normally inside the defense. — Norm Sloan

I never think about missing a free throw. All that goes through my mind when I'm at the line is seeing the ball go through the bottom of the net. — Brad Daugherty

You ready to play?" Dave asked, bouncing it.
"I don't know," I said. "Are you going to cheat?"
"It's street ball!" He said checking it to me. "Show me that love."
So chessy, i thought. But as i felt it, solid against my hands, i did feel something. I wasn't sure it was love. Maybe what remained of it, though, whatever that might be. "All right," I said. "Let's play. — Sarah Dessen

When covering the man with the ball, the defense should be able to touch the ball with his hand. He should assume this touching position as the ball is being received. When the ball is received, the defense should discourage the pass into the post area. The hands should be kept up. Keeping the hands up reduces a tendency to foul and allows a player to move his hands quickly. — Ralph Miller

I am a basketball junkie, and as a product of the great basketball state of Kansas, I have watched many a ball game between the University of Kansas Jayhawks and the Tar Heels. — Sheri L. Dew

He doesn't need advice on how to play his position, but he needs advice on how to play team ball ... If it's going to be my team, I'll voice my opinion. If he don't like it, he can opt out. — Shaquille O'Neal

Most lay-ups and two foot jump shots around the goal are missed by not putting the ball up high enough on the backboard — Rick Majerus

I was supposed to take the ball out. I told coach there's no way I'm taking the ball out, unless I can shoot it over the backboard and it goes in. I told him, 'Have somebody else take the ball out, give me the ball, and everybody get out of the way.' — LeBron James

I have had some bad shooting games but that doesn't stop me from getting the ball to my teammates — Jason Kidd

Basketball for me has always been a matter of rhythm - what you do bouncing the ball, how you bounce the ball, how you run, how you receive the ball to be in rhythm. — Earl Monroe

He walked over to Isaac and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Dude, pillows don't break. Try something that breaks."
Isaac reached for a basketball trophy from the shelf above the bed and then held it over his head as if waiting for permission.
"Yes," Augustus said. "Yes!" The trophy smashed against the floor, the plastic basketball player's arm splintering off, still grasping its ball. Isaac stomped on the trophy.
"Yes!" Augustus said. "Get it!" And then back to me, "I've been looking for a way to tell my father that I actually sort of hate basketball, and I think we've found it. — John Green

Encourage 'random' picks on the ball because they cannot be scouted — Doc Rivers

Basketball Rule #7

Rebounding
is the art
of anticipating,
of always being prepared
to grab it.
But you can't
drop the ball. — Kwame Alexander

I went from five foot eleven to six foot eight, and the more ball I played, the more I caught on to the game. — Dennis Rodman

Part of the charm of basketball lies in the fact that it's a simple game to understand. Players race up and down a fairly small area indoors and stuff the ball into a ring with Madonna's dress hanging on it. — Dan Jenkins

If I cover my head with my hands, it means deny the ball to the opponent's ball handler. — Don Meyer

Basketball is a simple game. Your goal is penetration, get the ball close to the basket, and there are three ways to do that. Pass, dribble and offensive rebound. — Phil Jackson

Probably the most important aspect of individual defensive play is the 'close-out.' This approach to the ball should be made in a 'step-drag action' with advanced foot moving forward first and then the back foot in a boxer's type shuffling of the feet. — Tex Winter

Put your two best players away from the ball and bring it back to them. — Don Meyer

Unless you plan to out-rebound and out-shoot everyone you play, then you better learn to handle the ball. — Henry Iba

Sorry!' Dave's friend yelled when he saw me. 'That was my-' But i wasn't listening as,instead,i took every bit of the anger and stress of the last few minutes and days put it behind the ball, throwing it overhead at the basket as hard as i could. It went flying, hitting the backboard and banging through the netless hoop at full speed before shooting back out and nailing Dave Wade squarely on the forehead. And just like that, he was down. — Sarah Dessen

In the closing seconds of every game, I want the ball in my hands for the last shot - not in anybody else's, not in anybody else's in the world. — Larry Bird

They say I couldn't play football, I was too small. They say I couldn't play basketball, I wasn't tall. They say I couldn't play baseball at all and now everyday of my life, I ball. — Lil' Wayne

Baseball is a set of individuals doing their thing in the same team, but it's much more individual. In basketball people are making real time decisions about who gets the ball, do we trust everybody out on the court, and the analytics certainly don't show you all those subtle dynamics, but they're very important. — Steve Ballmer

You can't win without the ball. — Red Auerbach

The pleasure of sport was so often the chance to indulge the cessation of time itself
the pitcher dawdling on the mound, the skier poised at the top of a mountain trail, the basketball player with the rough skin of the ball against his palm preparing for a foul shot, the tennis player at set point over his opponent
all of them savoring a moment before committing themselves to action. — George Plimpton

I played six to 10 hours a day, every day, 90 days during the summer, and I'd do incredible things. I would dribble blindfolded in the house. I would take my basketball to bed with me, I'd lay there after my mother kissed and tucked me in, and I'd shoot the ball up in the air and say, 'Finger tip control, backspin, follow through. — Pete Maravich

College coaches want to power the ball inside, they want (their post players) to power the ball up, but no one can shoot from that 15-foot area anymore. — Oscar Robertson

When Jordan took the court for the first time wearing his special red-and-black shoes, the NBA fined the Bulls $1,000 for violating the league's uniform dress code. Nike cleverly seized on the fine as a publicity opportunity, producing a television commercial that showed Jordan bouncing a ball as a voice said: "On September 15, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On October 18, the NBA threw them out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can't keep you from wearing them. Air Jordans from Nike. — Aaron Frisch

I had some shots that I felt like I should've made; I just didn't make them. I'm not going to shoot the ball great every night. — Kobe Bryant

The only thing I insist that everybody do is there has to be a basketball court in every game I do, and - with one exception, I let them get away with it once - you can actually shoot a ball through the basket in every game I've made. — Warren Spector

One of the hardest things for a ball player to do is to accept his role — Scottie Pippen

Don't knock the ball in the stands, keep it in your hands! — Bill Russell

If you only ever like people you don't know and who don't know you, the ball is perpetually in their court. Only they don't realize that you think they're playing basketball with you. They are not actually at the court. You think you're there. But really you're not there, either. — Katie Heaney

No matter what ... ball made my heart beat faster, made me want to jump up and down and be Superman. That's what life was about anyway, being Superman and living like life itself was important. Basketball made my life important. — Walter Dean Myers

A lot of players know how to play the game, but they really don't know how to play the game, if you know what I mean. They can put the ball in the hoop, but I see things before they even happen. You know how a guy can make his team so much better? That's one thing I learned from watching Jordan. — LeBron James

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

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

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

Our offensive philosophy is to simply find a way to get the ball into the hands of our team's best player. — Kelvin Sampson

For us to be successful on defense, we must get back and stop the basketball, eliminate easy baskets, keep the ball out of the lane, and bother the shooters. — Dick Bennett

I've always considered myself a crunch-time player. I just love having the ball in my hands. Everyone in the arena knows the ball is supposed to be in your hands and you still make it. It's the odds. I love the odds. — Reggie Miller

Winning squads emphasize fundamentals-pick and rolls,teamwork,and defense. They play with passion and they play hard. They move the ball, and when their players don't have it, they move well without the ball. They play with sagacity by exploiting mismatches. They gauge their opponents weaknesses and then attack them relentlessly. — Walt Frazier

Every sound in the gym is so fantastic. The screams of the fans, the whistle of the ref, the teammates calling to each other, the sounds of the ball touching the wooden floor, the sneakers touching the floor, and the sounds of the fight, the muscle and the sweat. Oh, and the last one-when the ball goes through the net. Don't laugh at my sensitivity and romanticism - those sounds really attract me. — Yao Ming

Chris Paul is one of the brightest stars in the National Basketball Association, a must-see player with the New Orleans Hornets whose deft ball skills and eye-popping speed have attracted admirers all over the world. — Don Yaeger

In sixth grade, my basketball team made it to the league championships. In double overtime, with three seconds left, I rebounded the ball and passed it - to the wrong team! They scored at the buzzer and we lost the game. To this day, I still have nightmares! — Zac Efron

The LA Lakers are so good they could run a fast break with a medicine ball. — Rich Donnelly

Kids who I grew up with, who I played ball with, basketball, baseball, and went to parties with - for whatever reason - they ended up in a fundamentally different place than I did. I'm the attorney general of the United States and they are ex-felons. — Eric Holder

If a director brings a guy to their movie who does improv, they've got to let him do what he does - otherwise it's like bringing Michael Jordan to your basketball team and telling him to just pass the ball and don't shoot. — J. B. Smoove

When we're playing a good scoring center, we tell our team that it is not our defensive man's job to stop the center. It's the responsibility of our perimeter people to stop the ball from going inside. — Bobby Knight

You create shots for yourself by what you do without the ball more than what you do after you get it — Steve Alford

They shot the ball well early. What comes out of the microwave hot doesn't always stay hot. I know, because I eat bagels in the morning. — Shaquille O'Neal

If I were playing today, I'd steal the ball from these guys when they go under the ball with their hands because that's when they have less control of their dribble. Once you go under the ball, there;s nothing you can do except carry it or pick it up. Whereas with the yo-yo dribble, I could dribble a little quicker- change my and cadence- to elude my defender — Walt Frazier

move. For one thing, you're going to start paying more attention. Yes, perhaps you'll sometimes have a crazed, wild-eyed look, but that's a price you're willing to pay to "free your mind." I'd like to be supportive, so let me alert you to the possible pitfalls of this strategy. In the psychological study of attention, one comes across a famous short video clip of three students dressed in white and three dressed in black, with each team passing a basketball back and forth as the members constantly change positions. The goal for viewers is to count how many times the white team passes the ball from one member to another. — Sheena Iyengar

Reverse the ball one time for a good shot, two times for a great shot, three times for a layup. — John Wooden

Let me go back to a comfortable analogy for me - sports ... basketball. I use it because you're naive if you don't see the national full-court press picking away right now: A good point guard drives through a full court press, protecting the ball, keeping her eye on the basket ... and she knows exactly when to pass the ball so that the team can WIN. — Sarah Palin

As far as she could tell, basketball involved a herd of impossibly tall men racing up and down a polished wooden floor, passing a ball back and forth until one of them forged ahead to the basket to try to score. It seemed that whenever the contest became interesting, the referees would blow their whistles and everything would come to a grinding halt. She couldn't understand why the referees chose to wear zebra-striped shirts, either, since it wasn't likely anyone would confuse the short, balding men with the players. — Debbie Macomber

And as I sit and reflect, I m left with one question - What's next for me? What challenges does life pose for me tomorrow ? How long will I continue to bounce this ball ? And when this ball stops , where will I find myself? Will I be simply remembered as some guy who had success overseas?Will i rely solely on my past and be one who just talks about my glory days as professional basketball player? NOT LIKELY!!J.R.HOLDEN REPRESENTS SO MUCH MORE THAN AN ATHLETE . — Jon-Robert Holden

When I dunk, I put something on it. I want the ball to hit the floor before I do. — Darryl Dawkins

Swish, the net sounded like the blast of a cannon, signaling the game was tied at 64. Dave then saw the second shot in his mind before even going into his pre-shot routine. The ball tickled the front rim, brushed against the backboard, and then dropped through the net. The home crowd erupted as Dave backpedaled toward the opposing rim. Central High attempted a last-second shot that fell short into Breslin's hands. The fans rushed onto the floor as the number two train came roaring into the station, bringing Dave back from his glorious past back into the oppressive heat of the present. — Phil Wohl