Quotes & Sayings About Nba Player

After I made it to the NBA, I said that I didn't want to be the last player from Africa. After my rookie year, I went to the league and talked about this, and they embraced my idea and started conducting basketball clinics in Africa, and that's when I knew I wouldn't be the last African. — Dikembe Mutombo

Mick Jagger is in better shape than far too many NBA players. It's up in the air whether the same can be said of Keith Richards. — Bill Walton

I am always playing hard trying to win. Just knowing that at one time I was once that kid that looked up to NBA players and NFL players. Today these kids look up me. — Jason Terry

Michael Jordon may have been the best basketball player in history, but he couldn't have won six NBA titles without a team. — Mark E. Hyman

After the NBA and ABA merged, players could come out after high school. Still, there were only a few cases prior to Kevin Garnett coming out in 1995, so Nike and the other companies were only involved in the college game. — Sonny Vaccaro

I'm just thrilled for so many people. Our players, mostly, but the people in our organization - Rick Welts, Joe Lacob and Peter Guber and the whole group. It's just a phenomenal group of people. I think as a coach you just appreciate kind of the big picture a little bit more. — Steve Kerr

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

I'm a competitive player, and I love being on the court. If the NBA cancels the season I'm definitely looking at my options and considering going overseas. — Paul Pierce

There are a lot of things that make players really good coaches. Whether you've played in the NBA or not, there are certain things you have to master and be really good at. They just have to be gifted in these areas. You've got to be competent. Secondly, you've got to be able to communicate. You can have a picture in your mind on how to score but if you can't communicate it, if you can't teach it, what good is it? You've got to be brutally honest and be a man of strong character and then you've got to have class. They've got to respect you. — Avery Johnson

I wanted to be a football player. Football is a sport that I love, but the more I started playing basketball, the more I started dreaming of playing in the NBA. — Dwyane Wade

When players are used to winning, they put out a little more. Basketball 3rd winningest coach (regular season and playoffs) in NBA history; won 1,037 times in 20 years; — Red Auerbach

I ask myself why I do it. Maybe it's to prove I'm still around. It takes a lot out of my body. I'm not an NBA player anymore. At my age, very few people can handle it. — Jerry Stiller

NBA gets to see these players develop more..Did Lebron need another year, Did Kobe need another year — Arn Tellem

It took me a while to realize I'm an NBA player. — Josh Howard

I remember an incident overseas about five years ago where a player punched a referee and knocked him cold. I don't think anything like that will ever happen in the NBA. Emotions run rampant. The games are so intense, and the stakes are so high. (But) At the end of the day, players and coaches really respect officials and really appreciate that they try to do a good job. — Jalen Rose

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

There is an old Yiddish phrase I find apropos - but not by choice: "Man plans, God laughs." I am a prime example. My life was pretty much laid out for me. I was a basketball star my entire childhood, destined to be an NBA player for the Boston Celtics. But in my very first preseason game, Big Burt Wesson slammed into me and ruined my knee. I tried gamely to come back, but there is a big difference between gamely and effectively. My career was over before I hit the parquet floor. I — Harlan Coben

I'm the first player in history that doesn't want to play defense and still gets in foul trouble. — Shaquille O'Neal

I'm not nearly as much of a fan of the NBA as I was maybe 10 or 15 years ago, or certainly as I was when I was a player. It's become more entertainment focused, and less focused on the purity of the game. — Len Elmore

My mother was a secretary that elevated herself to having her own international company, my father elevated himself to an NBA player and perennial all-star. So I learned from my parents that it's about hard work, about both of them getting their education, putting people first and leading a life of integrity. — Brian J. White

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

NBA has a selfish rationale. It saves the owners money by delaying the time a player gets to a second, more lucrative contract. Even the player's union is on board. There are only 450 jobs in the NBA, and the one-and-done protects veterans' jobs. — Sonny Vaccaro

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

I don't see it happening unless every NBA player is given a stipend to buy clothes. — Marcus Camby

If I'd gone straight to the NBA, I don't think I would have been ready as a player or a person. — Kevin Durant

So after 11 years you're just picking up all this information. I'm a basketball junky, so I watch old players. The '90s was a great era of basketball. I watched so much of that. That just helped me be a student of the game and pick up any moment. It's the 10,000 hour rule. You're just trying to master your craft. — Andre Iguodala

I always felt that I had to leave a legacy on the African continent. As I was only the third player to come to the NBA from Africa, I felt I had to do my best to recruit more young Africans to come and play in the NBA - and also find a way to bring the NBA to Africa. — Dikembe Mutombo

The most underrated player in NBA history is Dominique Wilkins. Right behind him is Gary Payton. He never has gotten the respect he deserves. If he doesn't spend the rest of his days in Seattle, I hope he goes someplace where he has a chance to win a title. — Charles Barkley

I love to cook like a mad man. If I could do it all over again? I would be a NBA basketball player. — Henry Zebrowski

In the NBA, you can't run from guys. I think a lot of teams were surprised by my interviews, how nice and well-spoken I am as a player and as a person. I'm a guy who wants to learn. — Shabazz Muhammad

About strip clubs and athletes. The best way I can explain why a lot of players end up there is because it's one of the safest places a high-profile person can spend time in a boring city. — Shaquille O'Neal

I'm no different than any other expendable player. — Mo Williams

I thought I would make it (to the NBA). I believed that I would make it. But I had a Plan B. I was going to get my Master's degree at Tulane University had it not worked out. I think the pressure of making it wasn't on me as great as some other players that had no other options. I was going to do something special in life and I wanted to play in the NBA. I had a backup plan but I went full speed ahead with my Plan A. — Avery Johnson

The guy said NBA players are one in a million, ... I said, 'Man, look, I'm going to be that one in a million. — Kobe Bryant

Despite their tremendous talent, (NBA players) are still, by and large, young adults, seeking validation from an authority figure, and there is no greater authority figure on a team than the coach. Needless to say, in today's warped, self-indulgent climate, too many players couldn't care less about appeasing the coach. — Phil Jackson

The NBA has more than 435 players and there are at least 100-some players doing more than expected. Shaq is doing a lot. Dwight Howard, [Manu] Ginobli. Dirk [Nowitzki] is doing a lot, and not just in Europe; he's reaching out to Africa and all other places. — Dikembe Mutombo

The NBA is a culture shock for college kids, and even more so for kids from another country. The NBA is a unique environment, so there is going to be transition for any young kid, but I think coming from another country and culture is even harder. It does take a special toughness and confidence to deal with that, especially since a lot of times you don't play a lot as a young player. — Austin Ainge

One thing I learned in the NBA is that the No. 1 job of a general manager is to keep his job. They are only 30 positions where you make millions and hang around with basketball players all day. — Mark Cuban

I feel confident because I'm the best player in the world. It's that simple. — LeBron James

I want to say congratulations to Cleveland and Coach Blatt. LeBron is an incredible player. — Steve Kerr

In France, if you talk to little boys, they know all of the NBA players and not one single Pro A player. — Tony Parker

Kim Kardashian is single again. Hey, great. Maybe that will give the NBA players something to do during the lockout. — Frank Caliendo

When I come home, I'm not a basketball player, but "dad". While everyone sees me as an NBA player, to my boys, I'm just "dad" and that's very important. — Dwyane Wade

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

To be a great player or a good player in the NBA, I have to work on my perimeter game. — Amar'e Stoudemire

There's Brandon Jennings. The NBA told him to go to college for a year, and he said, "Screw that. I'll go to Europe and make a million bucks and then come back." And he's proven to be a pretty damn good player. He's done as much for the game as Michael [Jordan] by forging a different route. — Sonny Vaccaro

I remember when I came into the NBA, eighteen years ago, there were maybe nine to twelve international players playing in the NBA. Today we've got more than 85, so that tells you how our game has grown at that level. — Dikembe Mutombo

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

The ABA really loosened up the NBA and introduced innovations like the three-point shot and the Slam Dunk and other competitions at the All Star Game. And we had all the hot young players. — Mel Daniels

Do your best when no one is looking. — Bob Cousy

Kevin Garnett is the prototype for the NBA player of the future. He's already one of the greatest players to have played the game. — Bill Walton

The thing with NBA teams, a lot of times they just want to get you back on the floor to play, so as a player you've got to be very, very smart. — Andrew Bogut

Every NBA player, every athlete, I think once you get to this level in life, whether you have kids or you're about to have kids, understands that this is so much bigger than this sport. — Allan Houston

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

When I think about my MVP season, I will also think about the loss to Golden State. But winning the award as Most Valuable Player of the NBA is just a huge honor. I didn't really realize how big it was until Mark Cuban had tears in his eyes at the award ceremony. — Dirk Nowitzki

I have the loving support of my girlfriend who still attends Wake Forest and is nearing graduation. She helps me cope with the everyday rigors of being an NBA player. — Tim Duncan

I had never dreamed about the NBA like some guys did. I was a non-scholarship player at an NAIA college. I played on the Boys and Girls Club team in my freshman and sophomore years of high school before I made the high school team. I was our backup center in college. — Terry Porter

Don't ever have a rule that you won't enforce with your best player. — Doug Collins

Goals determine what you are going to be — Julius Erving

It just feels good to say we're the best team in the world, with the best player in the world. — Klay Thompson

Everyone said that the NBA could not possibly make it because it had too many black players. — David Stern

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

I think it was wishful thinking of me to dream of being an NBA player. And once I made the NBA I dreamed of being an All-Star, but I never dreamed of being an MVP. — Steve Nash

My dream was to be in the NBA. I wasn't really focused on being a star player on a team. I just wanted to make it to the NBA. I've been blessed for the opportunities to be in the Finals, been in the playoffs ever since I've been in the NBA. — James Harden

(Oklahoma Thunder center Kendrick) Perkins doesn't like other NBA players. — Doc Rivers

I usually dig the single-digit numbers, but No2 is retired. I'm going to change it up and wear No10. I'm going to wear it for Messi, my favourite soccer player. I've been playing a lot of FIFA lately and watching the games. He's the best little guy to do it and I've got to be the best little guy to do it at No10 in the NBA. That's my goal. — Nate Robinson

Every NBA arena has six cameras in the ceiling. The question is what does the software do with video feeds? How to surface that in a set of analytics? There are some "playbooks," but in most sports these days what you really want to share out with coaches and players is a set of video that lets you visualize what's going on and what's the best way to do things. — Steve Ballmer