Quotes & Sayings About Basketball Player

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

I don't recruit players who are nasty to their parents. I look for players who realize the world doesn't revolve around them. — Pete Carril

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

Coaches win practices, players win games — Pete Carril

I would rather have a player who has mastered two or three moves than to try to teach him six or seven. — Norm Sloan

If you're straight with your players, they'll be straight with you. — Al McGuire

It was another year or two before I discovered that drat and draft were different words. During that same period I remember believing that details were dentals and that a bitch was an extremely tall woman. A son of a bitch was apt to be a basketball player. When you're six, most of your Bingo balls are still floating around in the draw-tank (27-8). — Stephen King

Good players can take coaching; great players can take coaching and learn. — John Wooden

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

I wanted to be a hockey player. Where I grew up, the basketball courts were rarely used. I was terrible in school and actually said, 'I'm going to be a hockey player.' — Denis Leary

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

Players draw confidence from a poised, alert coach who anticipates changing in game conditions — Jack Ramsay

I'm a basketball player. That's what I do and what I love but that's just not all who I am. I'm talented in a lot of different areas. — Kevin Durant

I wanted to the best player in the state - [the best] the area has ever seen. That's always been my goal. Guys like Elgin Baylor, Adrian Dantley and Dave Bing, it's tough to pass those guys. So I'm studying, working. My project's not over yet. Hopefully, I get there. — Kevin Durant

I'm the NBA's best NFL player, and I've always been the sexiest 7-footer in the NBA - for 12 years running. — Shaquille O'Neal

I don't think coaches should have to wear mic's. It is an invasion of privacy. We are trying to accomplish things, and wearing microphones may hinder development by straining the nature of relationships coaches and players have. — Steve Nash

You have to teach now - tell a kid how to box out, tell him how to pass, teach him footwork. Players don't understand that anymore. — Oscar Robertson

If we can take young people who excel at the highest levels, put them on the same kind of pedestal as the all-state basketball player and the all-state football player, and begin to get the same kind of recognition, it will have a profound effect, and we are finding that it does. — Ben Carson

I think school is very important and I personally had a great experience at North Carolina, which helped shape me as a basketball player and a person. Every once in a while, you will have a player who can make the jump and have an immediate impact on the professional level, but most of the players who come out would absolutely benefit from going to college. — Michael Jordan

It's easier to date a football player for sure. Football players have one game a week, and they practice every day, but they're all at home. In basketball, they're on the road all the time. — Khloe Kardashian

So you're dealing with a coach, and you're dealing with a guy who's actually experienced NBA basketball from a player's perspective and actually goes about it that way. — Kevin Garnett

The greatest ally you have to get things working well and the players performing as a team is the bench. Don't be afraid to use it, either for the star player or anyone else. — John Wooden

Players with high character get better. Players with a serious approach get better. The fools never get better — Jeff Van Gundy

Scientists contribute in a variety of ways and I don't think I can singular one even including [Albert] Einstein, that I can say that he's the best. We don't work like the best basketball player and the best musician and so on. Science is a collective effort. — Ahmed H. Zewail

Basic dance
and I should qualify the word basic
is primarily concerned with motion. So immediately you will say but the basketball player is concerned with motion. That is so
but he is not concerned with it primarily. His action is a means towards an end beyond motion. In basic dance the motion is its own end
that is, it is concerned with nothing beyond itself. — Alwin Nikolais

I'm pretty fundamental when it comes to running. A basketball player doesn't practice his free throw shooting by doing slam dunks all over the place. He does it by practicing free throws. That's the attitude I take: You don't get better at running by doing everything but running. You get better by running. — Chris Solinsky

I don't try to get players emotionally up for a game; it creates too many peaks and valleys ... I strive for even keel; they will get up for the big games. — Denny Crum

In basketball, you can be the greatest individual player in the world and still lose every game, because a team will always beat an individual. — Bill Walton

Sometimes a player's greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team. — Scottie Pippen

Players must be able to carry out simple instructions from the bench to the court. If they can't, then they can't play — Bobby Knight

In the original script, my character was a basketball player rather than a boxer. I didn't think I could pull that off. I'm a little short to be a basketball player! — Eddie Murphy

We overload in our workouts so that the game slows down in real life. It helps you become a smarter basketball player. — Stephen Curry

Players must do what you want them to do in pressure situations. — Don Meyer

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

In practice, don't just run basketball drills, teach the players how to play basketball. — Don Meyer

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

If I don't get five [titles], I won't be happy with myself as a basketball player. I don't know how you guys will feel about me. — Shaquille O'Neal

What we do at LSU is to develop players and make them better. — John Brady

My mom always tells me that ... Nobody is going to remember you for the great basketball player you are but they will remember you for the character you have off the court and how many lives you're changed. — Isaiah Austin

They said you have to use your five best players but I found you win with the five who fit together the best. — Red Auerbach

If you're a basketball player and you don't stop and take pictures with your fans, you can have an amazing game and everyone still loves you. — Kim Kardashian

Coaching staff: I know there's days you look at that film and you want to kill me. I'm not playing defense, taking bad shots, getting too many techs. But you always believe that I can be the guy. Through the tough times, you guys never left my side ... That's something that I really appreciate and I never want to take you guys for granted. I thank you so much for being part of my life. And not just on the basketball court, but giving me talks about growing as a man first, and a basketball player next. — Kevin Durant

I used to play soccer when I was in Morocco, but I was more of a basketball player. I played high school basketball, I played AAU basketball. — French Montana

Plays are not as important as players, and players are not as important as teammates — Don Meyer

What I've talked about the entire series and throughout this playoffs is about intensity and effort, desire and will of our players. — Bill Laimbeer

There is no doubt in my mind and I know in my time, there will be a Canadian basketball player playing for Toronto Raptors, 100% — Masai Ujiri

I think I am a smarter player now. — Carmelo Anthony

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 think one of the most immoral things is college football and basketball, where everybody is making money except the players. — Frank Deford

I'm fighting against becoming soft. That's the worst thing you can say to a basketball player. — Dennis Rodman

Magic Johnson is the best player who plays on the ground, and Michael Jordan is the best player who plays in the air. — John Paxson

My idol when I was growing up was Michael Jordan the basketball player because of his work ethic rather than his talent and because of what he went through to be as good as he was. — Justin Timberlake

I'm not saying that they were Einsteins; they were marginal students. But every ballplayer whoever touched me has moved up his station in life. And the players moved up my station. — Al McGuire

Basketball is sort of an interesting sport that, you know, the top player on your team makes so much more of an impact than the top player in any other sport. — Daryl Morey

My players on defense must have a hand-up on every shot. If not, they run sprints. — Rick Majerus

I think, growing up, I was seen as the perfect power forward. For a long time, I thought maybe I was supposed to be a basketball player. — D'Brickashaw Ferguson

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

The biggest thing that will define my legacy is how I've done it, and what I've done, and who I am. I'm a weird big guy. Doing rapping, doing movies. Do a lot of stuff. But always do things the right way. Went to the police academy to become a police officer. Get his master's in criminal justice, stayed out of trouble. Played for three different teams. Changed three different franchises around. This is a guy who they would have secret meetings about to change the rules. So, that's going to be my legacy: the most dominant player ever. — Shaquille O'Neal

It's not like being a professional basketball player where you're in a big house. Maybe three, four or five guys make a couple million bucks a year, but that's it. The rest of them have second jobs. — Frank Grillo

I just said to myself, 'Damn, I'm a great player.' — Shaquille O'Neal

I wasn't as critical during games as I was at practice. Players needed confidence during games more than criticism. — Dean Smith

The only thing I pay attention to with free throws is what a guy does in the final four minutes of a game. If you can improve players' self-esteem and confidence, get them to relax, teach visualization and routine, they will shoot as well, or better, with the pressure on. — John Calipari

Don't let talent get in way of team performance. Great players do what's outstanding for team, not what makes them stand out — Jerry West

So, yeah, I'm going to try to win the national championship next year. But I'm not going to kill myself doing it. I'm not going to kill my players either. You really start to realize there's a lot more to what we're trying to do then winning games — Geno Auriemma

I'm not chasing championships. Championship's chasing us. I'm not doing that. I want my players to be better people once they leave campus because this is a life lesson. This is more than basketball. This is life lessons that we're trying to teach. — Kevin Ollie

The highest level of achievement is attained by the teams with the best conditioned players — Jack Ramsay

People will think there are no other great ballplayers. Look at Garnett. Look at Duncan, Shaq, Kobe. Look at the players with Sacramento. The have a really good basketball team. — Oscar Robertson

Can your player make a curl cut and score in the lane? If so, he is the cutter. — Don Meyer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Building relationships is the key for being happy as a coach. Players must want to play for you. If they are comfortable with you, they will work hard for you. — Mike McConathy

Basketball is great; no one in Europe seems to believe just how close the spectators can sit to the players. — Michael Douglas

All the courage and competitiveness of Jackie Robinson affects me to this day. If I patterned my life after anyone it was him, not because he was the first black baseball player in the majors but because he was a hero. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

[When] I was young and I listened to everything - I took everything to heart. I didn't really realize how much people want to talk badly about you when you're down, or kick you when you're down. As basketball players, people think everybody's ultra-confident. But that's not the case. — Blake Griffin

It's better to have a good player with the basketball in late game situations than to have plays. — Rick Pitino

The University of Houston has made an excellent choice by hiring Ron Hughey as its new women's basketball coach. Coach Hughey will bring an expertise and energy level to the program that will excite fans and put Houston Women's Basketball back on the map. Having watched him coach up close, I know his players will improve immensely and love learning from him. I look forward to following Houston Basketball in the years to come. — Mike Thibault

The man that got me into collecting sneakers in the first place was the man they call Michael Jordan. He was the one who kind of exposed me to the sneaker world - he was my favorite basketball player, and he had the best shoes. — Macklemore

Tim Thomas is about excuses. It's always somebody else's fault. He said I was jealous? He should thank me for helping him get that contract. He said I didn't show? They traded me, they traded Ray, they traded Big Dog [Robinson] and Tim Thomas still wasn't the man on that team. Michael Redd became the man there. I think I'm doing quite well for myself here. Right now, he needs to focus on his game. Right now, he's not a good basketball player. And I like Tim Thomas. He just has too many damn excuses. — Sam Cassell

Being a superstar means you've reached your potential, and I don't think I've reached my potential as a basketball player and as a leader yet. — Stephen Curry

Some people insist they've never met a gay person. But Three Degrees of Jason Collins dictates that no NBA player can claim that anymore. Pro basketball is a family. And pretty much every family I know has a brother, sister or cousin who's gay. In the brotherhood of the NBA, I just happen to be the one who's out. — Jason Collins

Players act like the floor is slanted; they run downhill on fast breaks and jog uphill when getting back on defense — Tates Locke

I wasn't a bad basketball player, but I was far from the world's greatest. Good defense, no offense - that was me. — Chuck Connors

There was a time when only specialized Christian missionaries needed to be able to defend the gospel of Jesus Christ against the attacks of Islam. Today every Christian has an opportunity and obligation to present the gospel effectively and in Christian love to the Muslims who have permeated our Western society. When your neighbor, your mechanic, your favorite basketball player, your employer or employee, or even your children's friends could very well be Muslims, the need for proper understanding and an effective Christian witness is abundantly clear. — Josh McDowell

I think planning to be a "professional adventurer" is about as realistic as planning to be a basketball player, so I don't usually encourage it. — Andrew Skurka

was right then that I knew I'd called the wrong person. I should have dialed Oscar, my slightly younger brother, instead. He was the levelheaded one in my life, the basketball player studying mechanical engineering. — Mariana Zapata

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

People in general misunderstand me. I'm very aware of the stereotype that comes with being a basketball player. But I'm well-rounded. I'm cultured. It's funny: When I speak, people are like, "Wow! You can really talk." I'm like, "What did you expect?" — Chris Bosh

Everywhere I've been, I've been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. I just want to get better. It's not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It's just how I am. — LeBron James

I do not like football, which I think of as a game in which two tractors approach each other from opposite directions and collide. Besides, I have contempt for a game in which players have to wear so much equipment. Men play basketball in their underwear, which seems just right to me. — Anna Quindlen

And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is a famous basketball player. I want to really learn the business. — Shaquille O'Neal

My father was a soccer player. All my friends played basketball though, so I stuck with basketball. — Steve Nash