Good Basketball Player Quotes & Sayings

A big market is something that doesn't really concern me too much. It's cool to think about, it's good for off-the-court deals. But I'm more of a basketball player. That's what I want to be known as. And this is the best place for me to play basketball. I'm glad I'm here. — Kevin Durant

I concluded some time ago that a major part of success of a team, or of an individual, has a great deal to do with the intangible qualities possessed. The real key is in how a person see himself (humility), how he feels about what he does (passion), how he works with others (unity), how he makes others better (servanthood), and how he deals with frustration and success, truly learning from each situations (thankfulness). I believe those concepts are the essence of a good player, team, coach, or individual in any capacity in life. — Dick Bennett

How good can we expect to be if our best player is not our best teammate — Brad Stevens

Characteristics of a Team Player We all fit into different niches. Each of us must make the effort to contribute to the best of our ability according to our own individual talents. And then we put all the individual talents together for the highest good of the group. Thus, I valued a player who cared for others and could lose himself in the group for the good of the group. I believe that quality makes for an outstanding player. It is also why the best players don't always make the best team. I mean by this that a gifted player, or players, who are not team players will ultimately hurt the team, whether it revolves around basketball or business. Understanding that the good of the group comes first is fundamental to being a highly productive member of a team. — John Wooden

Good players want to be coached ... Great players want to be told the truth — Doc Rivers

We have a simple rule for switching. Anytime there is movement over the top of a screen, there has to be an automatic switch. If a blind pick is set on one of our defensive players, there has to be a switch. To play good pressure defense, you have to use the switch. — Ralph Miller

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

If all I'm remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I've done a bad job with the rest of my life. — Isaiah Thomas

I'm a lot better coach when I have really good players — Chuck Daly

A player's ability to rebound is inversely proportional to the distance between where he was born and the nearest railroad tracks. The greater distance you live from the poor side of the railroad tracks, the less likely that you will be a good rebounder. — Pete Carril

Work as hard as you can to become as good an individual player as you can to help your team win — Doug Collins

My sporting hero was Drazen Petrovic, the NBA basketball player, who was killed in a car accident in 1993. He was a good friend, an unbelievable player, and I dedicated my Wimbledon win to him. — Goran Ivanisevic

Adam [Sandler] is a good basketball player, so he is a natural athlete, he worked with Sean Salisbury to make his footwork and delivery smooth, and he did a great job. — Bill Goldberg

If a player leaves Marquette and doesn't have some of my blood in him, then I don't think I've done a good job. — Al McGuire

I was pretty much seen as a basketball player coming out of high school. Football was my second love, but luckily, I turned out to be pretty good. Something just drew me to football; besides, I ended up being too short for my position in basketball. — Justin Tuck

As a good player in the inner city, you're always hearing people saying that you're better than you really are and that you don't have to do things like everybody else. — Carmelo Anthony

When I went blind at 13, I realized that I wasn't going to be a good baseball or basketball player like I enjoyed before. It forced me to look beyond the obvious, to things that I could still do well. — Erik Weihenmayer

Magic Johnson, former basketball player, may run for mayor of L.A. in the next election. Remember the good 'ol days when only qualified people ran for office like actors and professional wrestlers. — Jay Leno

On good teams coaches hold players accountable, on great teams players hold players accountable — Joe Dumars

Everyone is gonna have a bad day, everyone is gonna have a bad game. The questions are: How do you recover? What builds your character? I decided one day early on in high school that I wanted to be great at basketball, not just a good basketball player. — Gilbert Arenas

I probably would have no capability of absorbing a 60-defeat season as a coach. It would be a foreign experience. My whole career, even as a player, has been on winning basketball clubs and it just seems to have been a part of the make-up of what's been given me. That's what I've been given and that's what I've had to deal with. Some people can make fun of it or some people can have a good time with it, or some people can resent it. It's just what it is. — Phil Jackson

In my first film, I was a basketball player. Like every good actor, I lied when they asked me if I could play. — David Morse

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

It is not overwhelmingly difficult for a committed group of players with only average individual basketball skills to put together a very good team defense. — Del Harris

The players I respected most were the toughest players, not those who talked a good game or blocked a shot and acted like a fool. — Jay Bilas

A lot of times things get blown out of proportion in a negative light, especially in the NBA, ... But there are a lot of players in the NBA who really care about the community and want to use their basketball-playing ability for a good cause. — Kobe Bryant

My good friend Yao Ming was the first big player in the NBA to come from China. He gave himself to the game and was successful. That inspired the NBA to invest more and do more for the game of basketball. We're building academies not just in China, but in India, Africa, Europe and South America as well. — Dikembe Mutombo

Once you become a good person, then you have a chance of becoming a good basketball player. — John Wooden

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

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

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

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