Popular quotes about Basketball! Wisdom and inspiration are here!
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 AlexieEvery memory I had growing up was involving a basketball. I didn't go to the prom and stuff like that. It was always basketball for me.
Kevin DurantI really do miss playing basketball. I don't play a lot of pick-up games. But I do like using basketball as a form of cross training.
Jackie Joyner-KerseeA 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 DurantIn 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 MurphyMagic is crazy. He is that crazy wild guy on the basketball court that is very intense and very serious. He is the guy who lives and eats and breathes basketball.
Magic JohnsonDon't get me wrong - I love Jason Kidd. He's a great point guard (But) how am I comparing myself to him when I think I'm the best point guard to play basketball? That doesn't make any sense. I mean, how can I sit here and compare myself to somebody if I already think I'm the best?I'm telling you what it is: I know I'm the best point guard in the NBA. I don't need anybody else to tell me that. When I go on the basketball court, if I think about what you're all saying, I'll lose my mind.
Stephon MarburyPerhaps basketball and poetry have just a few things in common, but the most important is the possibility of transcendence. The opposite is labor. In writing, every writer knows when he or she is laboring to achieve an effect. You want to get from here to there, but find yourself willing it, forcing it. The equivalent in basketball is aiming your shot, a kind of strained and usually ineffective purposefulness. What you want is to be in some kind of flow, each next moment a discovery.
Stephen DunnI enjoy basketball. I enjoy coaching basketball. It's the out-of-season stuff I didn't handle well.
Dean SmithI played a little basketball, but basketball interfered with theater season. That's when we did our term plays and did nutshell versions of Shakespeare for English classes. And, believe me, I got a fair amount of looks from the guys on the team. 'You're in theater but you can play football?'
Dennis HaysbertWhen I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team.
George RavelingWe make a living playing basketball. You don't have to be a tough guy or a hard-ass to play this sport. You can be tough but you don't have to have that bravado. Sometimes it's good. But I'm not going to be someone I'm not. It's just me being me.
Chris BoshI was a skinny, scrawny guy. I stuttered horrendously, couldn't speak at all. I was a very shy, reserved player and a very shy, reserved person. I found a safe place in life in basketball.
Bill WaltonI 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 whatโs been given me. Thatโs what Iโve been given and thatโs what Iโve 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. Itโs just what it is.
Phil JacksonFebruary is always a bad month for TV sports. Football is gone, basketball is plodding along in the annual midseason doldrums, and baseball is not even mentioned.
Hunter S. ThompsonI've never felt my job was to win basketball games - rather, that the essence of my job as a coach was to do everything I could to give my players the background necessary to succeed in life.
Bobby KnightI don't have a set working style. Some lyrics come really slow, others come in 10 minutes while I'm watching basketball. They're always a surprise to me.
Travis MorrisonSingers always have an advantage. You know, everyone can connect to a song in a way that they cannot do to a basketball act or a magician act or whatever.
Piers MorganI've done a lot of basketball drills, not a whole lot of competitive stuff. I have basically been in the gym everyday working on my game, working on the time off that I've had from the game, just getting myself prepared mentally and physically for the season.
Grant HillI'm one of the best defenders to ever play basketball, so I'm still the first option on defense.
Metta World PeaceWhen I'm away from basketball, I'm the biggest kid. I do a good job of keeping myself sane. But on the other hand, I'm more of a solitary guy, glad to be left alone.
Tim DuncanPlaying basketball with my teammates was a gift! We cant play any more but we live the memories each day!
Theresa GrentzI wanted to do two things when I was growing up, about your age. I wanted to play in the NBA, and I wanted to be a businessman after my basketball career was over, and that is what I am doing now.
Magic JohnsonThen I went to UCLA - so of course I became a huge Bruin basketball fan... and later came to football.
Leigh SteinbergThe caliber of play suffered and attendance declined year by year. Interest in college football was exploding, and there was this new game called basketball.
John ThornMy goals have gone from being an all-star to just being able to play basketball. I always took for granted that I could play. Now I know what a gift it is.
Rebecca LoboIf people are well paid for reality television and cotton candy and dunking a basketball, why can't they be well paid for changing young minds?
B. J. NovakI started playing professional basketball in 1971, and I played professionally for five seasons before going to Philadelphia.
Julius ErvingWhen I'm smiling and having fun, that's when you should have a problem. If I'm out there frowning and looking mean, that's when you know you've beat me - because I'm not having fun. I've been playing basketball since I was three. Everybody since I was three tried to tell me to stop smiling. Even my dad. My dad apologized to me when I was ten.
Dwight HowardI'm definitely somewhat of a tomboy. I grew up a pretty big tomboy actually, and was really obsessed with basketball.
Rachele Brooke SmithMeadowlark was the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen.
Wilt ChamberlainA lot of kids just want to go play basketball, but they don't know to play and they don't have the skills to play. I think just the skill development right off and then play all you can, but don't sacrifice your skill development by just playing and not working on the specifics of the game.
Pat SummittWe have to move the meter in sports in Africa, especially basketball. With the growth of the NBA globally, we have to figure out more ways to develop facilities, coaching, leagues, and youth development in Africa. The talent is incredible. Especially physically. How do we get the youth to start playing at an early age just like in soccer? The future is bright. We now have an NBA office in Africa, we have legends and Hall of Famers, we have African assistant coaches, front office members, and some prominent African players over the last 10 years. So we must plan well for the next 10.
Masai UjiriI donโt watch a lot of other basketball away from the gym. But I do look at LeBronโs box score. I want to see how many points, rebounds and assists he had, and how he shot from the field. If he had 30 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, I can tell you exactly how he did it, what type of shots he made and who he passed to.
Kevin DurantGiven a full summer to practice basketball, and especially my jump shot, I know that I could play in the NBA and do well.
Tony GonzalezEverybody in the world is talking about Canadaโฆoutside of the US, there is probably no country in the world that is producing more blue-chip young basketball talent than Canada.
George RavelingBasketball, unlike football with its prescribed routes, is an improvisational game, similar to jazz. If someone drops a note, someone else must step into the vacuum and drive the beat that sustains the team.
Phil JacksonA long list. From getting cut from the high school basketball team, to getting fired from jobs, getting credit cards rejected and cut up. Rejection has only been a distraction, not a roadblock. โEvery no gets me closer to a yes,โ was the saying I used to use.
Mark CubanI don't really have anything to say. Basketball is not a game that you can play with your mouth. It needs action to prove yourself.
Yao Ming[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 WestTim 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 CassellI am more than just a serious basketball fan. I am a life-long addict. I was addicted from birth, in fact, because I was born in Kentucky and I learned, early on, that Habitual Domination was a natural way of life.
Hunter S. ThompsonDavid [Halberstam] kept on doing what he did because he loved it. One of the obituaries I read quoted him as saying that he did journalism for the same reason the great Julius Irving did basketball: He loved doing it even when he was having a bad day.
Jonathan Yardley