Quotes & Sayings About Nba

I've always felt obligated to help those less fortunate than me. It's an obligation that anyone who has a chance to be in the NBA should feel and act upon. — Dikembe Mutombo

When you go to watch a baseball game, when you go to watch an NBA game, when you watch an NFL game, when you go to watch movies, the offering that those arenas are doing foodwise is 'all the hot dogs you can eat'; all the French fries you can eat; for $20 you can eat 20 hot dogs. — Jose Andres

Alvin's the coach. We must be the Clippers. And I must be Olowokandi. Nooooo! — Shaquille O'Neal

I can speak volumes about the guy sitting next to me. You look at his stat line tonight, he had a lot of foul trouble and didn't really get going, but when he was in there, he was defending. He was playing physical, and he was doing everything he could to help us win. — Stephen Curry

Where else but the NBA could people like Bill Russell, Spencer Haywood, Ricky Barry, Dennis Rodman, and Allen Iverson come in and be allowed to be who they are? — Bill Walton

If the White House could do more to tell parents that getting children reading is their business too, we'd see a big difference. Hollywood and the NBA or NFL could step in, too. In England they have an event called Book Day, where every child receives a pound to use at any bookstore. — James Patterson

All the guys in the locker room will give me a hard time and call me Robin Thicke or call me Justin Bieber. — Chandler Parsons

I was always into sports games. Never really played anything else. I grew up on games like Madden and NBA Jam. — Chris Paul

Our team, because of our depth and our talent, we were able to do that, and it turned into a special season as a result. — Steve Kerr

Christian is going to be the strongest man in the NBA next year, because all he's been doing all summer is carrying around the luggage for 11 guys. — Charles Barkley

I'm working hard to see whether there can be basketball next year. — David Stern

My whole thing was, just being me. Now, you look around the NBA and all of them have tattoos, guys wearing cornrows. Now you see the police officers with the cornrows. I took a beating for those types of things. — Allen Iverson

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

I don't mess with that cat. I'm pretty sure he carries a blade under his jersey. — Charles Barkley

There are 30 great jobs in the NBA, and I've got one of them. — Scott Brooks

I want to return to the NBA this season, and help any team that wants me, in any capacity that they feel that I can help. I'm disappointed. — Allen Iverson

We did what we are supposed to. We protected home. We have to try to do it again Thursday night. — LeBron James

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

A lot of NBA owners sit at the midcourt. But we love being under the basket and seeing the players. — Stephen Pagliuca

If you do things with a certain type of result and cause a certain type of reaction or effect, then you increase your market value. It's very much a competition for the entertainment dollar, and that's never been more clearly evident than in today's NBA game. — Julius Erving

It's always been my dream to play in the NBA. — Paul Pierce

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

We couldn't get enough Jeremy Lin material in the NBA store fast enough. And when we did, it was just gone in minutes. — David Stern

I told Leonard, in the immortal words of Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible 2, 'I'm going on vacation. If I tell you where I'm going, then it won't be a vacation.' — Shaquille O'Neal

I want to be just like Steph when I grow up. — Andre Iguodala

We aren't comfortable. We are not satisfied. We have to stay even-keeled. — LeBron James

When you look at the last 20 years in the NBA, there have been seven teams that have won the NBA championship. Six of those seven teams drafted the number one or number two pick; their foundational people, — Ted Leonsis

I spent 50 years in the NBA. Can you imagine doing something that you love the most in the entire world and doing it for your entire life and, besides that, getting a pile of money for it? It's unbelievable. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. And I know it. — Don Nelson

You're messing up my highlights. — Shaquille O'Neal

I've won a championship on every level except the NBA. It's frustrating to have not gotten that in the first two years. — Steve Blake

I don't know what's wrong with that girl. — Reggie Evans

Famed basketball coach Phil Jackson, a meditator himself, arranged to have his players - first the Chicago Bulls, and then the L.A. Lakers - learn meditation as a way to improve their focus and teamwork. Jackson finds that mindfulness assists players in paying attention to what's happening on the court moment by moment. Such precise training in attention has paid off during tense playoffs; Jackson has led more teams to championships than any coach in NBA history. Meditation — Sharon Salzberg

Because of the makeup of the NBA, it cannot afford for the public to turn on them. — Julius Erving

In 2001 we didn't have all the talent in the world, we just had me on offense and just a bunch of tough ass dudes, and a great coach in Larry Brown. — Allen Iverson

I think it would be a boring game if everybody was the same, just like it would be boring if you guys asked the same dumb questions. — Shaquille O'Neal

Jeremy Lin is the only Asian American in the NBA today and one of the few in any professional U.S. sport. His arrival is surely leading other talented Asian American athletes this week to contemplate a pro career. — Eric Liu

They are that same group, but I've got my own rivalristic problems. Is that a word, rivalristic? I've got my own rivalristic problems in the Eastern Conference. — Shaquille O'Neal

A true superstar, [Shaquille] O'Neal is one of the most widely recognized athletes in the world, especially at waffle houses and all-you-can-eat buffets. Despite being born without the kind of body that would lend itself to being a dominant NBA center, Shaq's tireless work ethic has enabled him to become one of the game's all-time greats at the position. In his nearly fifteen years in the league he has almost managed to develop low post moves beyond backing over people, and he vows to one day make more than half of his free throws. — D.J. Gallo

But then I lock back in and I start thinking about how fun it is to compete during the playoffs and the first round, the second round, and Eastern Conference Finals. If I'm lucky enough to get here again, it will be fun to do it. — LeBron James

According to Sports Illustrated, an amazing 78 percent of NFL players find themselves bankrupt or financially stressed within two years of retirement. And 60 percent of NBA players are broke within five years of walking off the court. — Andy Stanley

My favorite Knicks moment was when we beat Indiana in Game 7 to reach the NBA Finals. We worked so hard as a team to reach that moment that it was very satisfying to beat Indiana and reach the Finals. — John Starks

My best memories are because I was on teams I love - even going back to being a kid. Not just in the NBA. — Steve Nash

Make friendship a fine art. — John Wooden

Teamwork is not a preference, it is a requirement. — John Wooden

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

I was really upset. I felt like they tried to limit me, whoever 'they' may be. So I just said to myself third quarter I'm going to come out and do what I do. — Shaquille O'Neal

Everything is done out of respect, whether it's a cheer or a boo. — Shaquille O'Neal

I agreed to film after my rookie year in Golden State. I was more used to cameras and felt that my journey to the NBA was a story worth sharing. Little did we know how much bigger the platform and documentary would become after Linsanity. — Jeremy Lin

We didn't see [the NBA lockout] as a victory at all. It was far from what we set it out to accomplish in bargaining, but I thought it was a fair compromise. — Adam Silver

Can't say no one makes money from Twitter now. The NBA does. — Mark Cuban

Toward the end of Carmel's life, the perception of super talls shifted dramatically, thanks largely to televised NBA games, By 1975, pretty much everyone had seen super tall people on TV, in the context of being celebrated in front of sold-out basketball arenas. This new frame of reference could not have been more positive. By 1995 Shaquille O'Neal was known as The Man of Steel, not the Traveling Human Giant. The idea of super tall people as freaks was replaced by the idea of super tall people as amazing athletes. — Arianne Cohen

Given a full summer to practice basketball, and especially my jump shot, I know that I could play in the NBA and do well. — Tony Gonzalez

You go from high school, to the NBA, and you're thrown in the fire. — Dwight Howard

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

In the NBA, you win, and you think you're going to win tomorrow. But as soon as you lose, you don't think you're ever going to win again. — George Karl

We played well all the way until, like, the second quarter. — LeBron James

Of all the things in sports, getting a sack is one of the hardest things to do. It's like a last-second, game-winning shot in the NBA. A guy hits the last-second shot, and the fans scream. For us (defensive ends), the sack is everything. It's hard to get there. But once you do, there's nothing like it. — Dwight Freeney

Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner's Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade. — David Stern

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

It was an honor to coach him. He should be proud of what he did this year. — David Blatt

I can't think of any NBA team over the last few years that lost three starters. And we replaced them basically with three guys who really haven't played in this league. — Isaiah Thomas

This ain't the Girl Scouts. This ain't the Boy Scouts. This is the NBA. — Kevin Garnett

Sport is the only profession I know of that when you retire you have to go to work. — Earl Monroe

I'm not skilled enough to explain properly how we feel. Not only me, but I'm sure Tony and Tim and Pop feel the same way. Last year was a tough one for all of us. We felt like we had the trophy, that we were touching it, and it slipped away. We all felt guilty. We got to this spot, and we didn't let it go. — Manu Ginobili

I once heard that Paul Seymour said as much as winning an NBA Championship, he'd like to see the Celtics lose a game after Auerbach brought out the cigar so he could go up to Arnold and stuff the cigar in his face. — Bob Cousy

They better not put me in the All -Star Game. I won't shoot, but I'll dominate that easy game. I'll be playing hard defense. I'll be foulin'. I'll be flagrant fouling. Everyone will be like, 'What are you doing?' — Metta World Peace

Listening and talking to my teammates has helped me learn the NBA game. I know that talent can only take you so far. — Paul Pierce

Back in the NBA's pre-mask era, ballers with busted noses or orbital bones had two unappealing options: Sit out and heal, or strap on a Michael Myers-looking opaque face shield closely related to that worn by hockey goalies. — Brendan I. Koerner

I look forward to making Miami a media mecca. — Shaquille O'Neal

I'm not like the next Michael Jordan, but I'm also not what everyone saw me as before I started playing in the NBA, either. — Jeremy Lin

Coaching in the NBA is not easy. It's like a nervous breakdown with a paycheck. — Pat Williams

When they arrived at his apartment, Allen's roommate Tim, was lying on the faux black leather sofa in the living room watching an NBA play-off game on their fifty-two inch flat-screen. Owen was barely over five feet tall with a pale complexion, buck teeth, kinky hair, and he wore thick glasses that made his eyes look like they were popping out at you in 3-D; but he was sweet as pie and had a heart of gold. — Monica Mathis-Stowe

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

When I was small, playing NBA Live, that's how I knew everyone in the NBA. That's how I learned about the players. — Tony Parker

I definitely want to thank my doctor, Dr. Sandy, um, my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot, thank you so much. — Metta World Peace

I still wanted to get into the NBA. I was still on the team, I was a starting point guard and I was on and off the team because of my grades. That was the thing, discipline, discipline, discipline, and then I was going home to a very strict dad. He ran the house like the military. — Ryan Montgomery

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

You lose in the Finals, they're all disappointing. Doesn't matter if I'm playing in Miami, Cleveland or on Mars. You lose the Finals, it's disappointing. — LeBron James

We didn't do much different against LeBron. We were just more active and more competitive. — Steve Kerr

I'm here to shine a bright light. I'm not here to be a guy of death. I just like 'KD' better. — Kevin Durant

Nobody thought that I was going to make it to the NBA. I only had a couple of believers growing up. — Dwight Howard

I am always amazed at how many guys in the NBA have never met an owner much less ever been to an owner's house. We bought the team so that we would be able to be a positive force, so that they in turn would be a positive force to young people everywhere. — Richard DeVos

When I retire, I'm going after his job. If I don't make sheriff, I'm going after his job. He's not that good. You can quote me on that. — Shaquille O'Neal

There was a possibility I could have been out of the NBA. It's taught me something that was a little deeper than basketball. I'm talking about life decisions. — Lamar Odom

I think the new ball is terrible. It's the worst decision some expert, whoever did it, made. It's terrible. It's like touching an exotic dancer and then going and touching a plastic blow-up doll. You know, it feels different. — Shaquille O'Neal

The thing I love about the NBA game is that it's a playmaker's league. — Lamar Odom

I have short goals - to get better every day, to help my teammates every day - but my only ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship. It's all that matters. I dream about it. I dream about it all the time, how it would look, how it would feel. It would be so amazing. — LeBron James

[The NBA] used to be a small band of basketball groupies. Now there are a lot more corporate-type people working in the league. — Jerry West

A closing team is so important in the NBA. The last seven minutes is what you are always coaching to get to. Now you have your team set, you have the match-ups you want, you have your time-outs, your chance to finish the game, and that's my job, to get us to that position during the course of the game. — Doug Collins

Failure makes me work even harder. — Michael Jordan

I didn't like how my NBA career ended because I wanted to go out on my own terms. But nobody tried to believe in me, that I could go back and play. I can still play at 39. — Tim Hardaway

It was an unusual environment. We're used to having the jotter arena at this time of year. It's unfortunate that it was that way, but both teams had to deal with it. — Erik Spoelstra

The NBA is a big family, and I think of all these rookies as my brothers. I still believe I am blue collar among the All-Stars. — Yao Ming

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

Promise yourself that you will talk health, happiness, and prosperity as often as possible. — John Wooden

We may bend sometimes, but we don't break. There's a lot of character in that room — David Blatt

If I were involved with the NBA, I wouldn't want a 19-year-old or a 20-year-old kid to bring into all the travel and all the problems that exist in the NBA. I would want a much more mature kid. I would want a kid that maybe I've been watching on another team, and now he's 21, 22 years old instead of 18 or 19, and I might trade for that kid. — Bobby Knight

Everyone who loves pro basketball assumes it's a little fixed. We all think the annual draft lottery is probably rigged, we all accept that the league aggressively wants big market teams to advance deep into the playoffs, and we all concede that certain marquee players are going to get preferential treatment for no valid reason. The outcomes of games aren't predeteremined or scripted but there are definitely dark forces who play with our reality. There are faceless puppet masters who pull strings and manipulate the purity of justice. It's not necessarily a full-on conspiracy, but it's certainly not fair. And that's why the NBA remains the only game that matters: Pro basketball is exactly like life. — Chuck Klosterman

I'm impressed with how the NBA, as a whole, is dressing so well. Guys are being very creative and having fun with it. — Tony Parker