Quotes About Basketball

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.

To be honest, I never thought I'd be famous for baseball. I want to play basketball, and I could also do both basketball and baseball - but I really want to play basketball.

I have to give credit to the NBA, because they've done an unbelievable job of taking our game global and putting us in a position to be able to come here and other places in the world and see how big the game of basketball is. If you have never been here, you might not really understand how amazing and how big basketball is. These fans in China love the sport, and they have more players playing than we have people living in the US.

Basketball, in America, is like a culture. It is like a foreigner learning a new language. It is difficult to learn foreign languages and it will also be difficult for me to learn the culture for basketball here.

We can never thank David Stern enough. His vision to use basketball to improve the quality of our lives to make this world a better and saner place, that guy, is the most important man in the history of basketball.

Before anyone ever cared where I would play basketball, I was a kid from Northeast Ohio. It’s where I walked. It’s where I ran. It’s where I cried. It’s where I bled. It holds a special place in my heart.

One thing you can't beat in this world is time. I learnt that the hard way. You can't play basketball forever. You can't play football forever. You can't bodybuild forever. I mean you CAN do it, but not at a high level against younger guys who have more time and have not reached their peaks yet. There's only so much the body can do and once you're done, you can't go back in time.

I can see why fans don't like to watch pro basketball. I don't, either. It's not exciting.

The hardest thing for a basketball player to do is dribble two really hard dribbles. You are flying, and then pull up and shoot a ball from 15, 17 feet. It's the hardest thing in the game.

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.

Handball, swimming, running, jumping, basketball, and boxing were as much a part of me as breathing.

February 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.

The great thing about basketball is you work as hard as you can to individually get better so that your team can win

Me as a person, I'm not the president of the NBPA (National Basketball Players Association). I don't even know what to say. I'm not like this perfect, buttoned-up, suit-and-tie guy.

I did volleyball, basketball, and track all through high school. And then I went to junior college and I stuck with track because I was good at shot put and discus. And then I got a full ride to Fresno State for their track program. Shot put was my main thing. I was the five-time All-American, and I set a couple records.

I'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.

I played no sports well. Because I was a boy in the United States Of America, I was forced into Little League and played horrible Little League baseball, and played football and basketball in school situations where I was forced to.

My daughter genuinely asked me to hand her the basketball bat. I might be failing as a father.

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.

Basketball is sharing.

You know what's fun about basketball? It keeps evolving, and it keeps changing a little bit. And the older guys want to try to hold it back to how they grew up, and it's not the same. You've got to change with the times, and some of the guys you've got to drag across the finish line.

I never knew what Amazon was. I've never seen any of those series, even on cable. I've never seen The Sopranos, or Mad Men. I'm out every night and when I come home, I watch the end of the baseball or basketball game, and there's Charlie Rose and I go to sleep.

There are some rappers out there that I listen to, that I'm like: "You are really good but you could be like the Michael Jordan of rap if you applied yourself." There's a lot of people who are better at basketball than Michael Jordan, but Michael Jordan just wanted to be Michael Jordan, more.

I've always thought that my exposure to competitive sports helped me a great deal in the operating room. It teaches you endurance, and it teaches you how to cope with defeat, and with complications of all sort. I think I'm a well-coordinated person, more than average, and I think that came through my interest in sports, and athletics... Playing basketball you have to make decisions promptly, and that's true in the operating room as well.

A 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.

The 76ers currently play very good basketball, and we don't. However, we are still only one win behind them. If we continue to improve, we should be on the top of our division at the end of the regular season.

Baseball players quit playing and they take up golf. Basketball players quit, take up golf. Football players quit, take up golf. What are we supposed to take up when we quit?

I don’t watch a lot of other basketball away from the gym. But I do look at LeBron’s 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.

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

I've always been a workout type guy. So if I'm feeling down or I'm not happy with something, I go to the gym and I get a shot of energy. If things don't go well in any aspect of my life, I'm going to the gym and I'm going to shoot. That's my one type of place that's a safe haven where I go and it's just me, the basketball and the hoop, and I'm just doing something I love to do.

Racing is not football or baseball or basketball where you can do it yourself. If you're good in high school, you just shine. (But in racing) you have to have a family behind you.

People will say you should quit running if you're a slow runner. Or you should quit basketball if you can't dribble with your left hand. I don't agree with that. If you're not a very good reader at 14, nobody thinks you should stop reading.

Generally speaking, individual performances don't win basketball games

Tattoos don't impress me. For me it's just another awkward part of fame. It's extraordinary - tattoos in basketball and soccer, it's quite extraordinary.

I take my sport damned seriously. Basketball is my life. There are other people who go into important games as if they were any other game. I'm a brooder and I spend a lot of time thinking about my opponent, about the things he can do and about what I have to do to win. I don't think I'll ever be able to change that.

Men own basketball teams. Every year cheerleaders' outfits get tighter and briefer, and players' shorts get baggier and longer.

. . . a jostling scrum of office buildings so mediocre that the only way you ever remember them is by the frustration they induce - like a basketball team standing shoulder to shoulder between you and the Mona Lisa.

The best part of basketball, for those people on the inside, is the bus going to the airport after you've won a game on an opponent's floor. It's been a very tough battle. And preferably, in the playoffs. And that feeling that you have, together as a group, having gone to an opponent's floor and won a very good victory, is as about as high as you can get.

I think I was chosen by basketball, although I never really physically got drafted to any team that I played for.

If you're getting ready to do a really emotional scene then, right before it, you're probably not going to be outside playing basketball.

I never knew what basketball was. I started playing on the playground. People used to laugh at me and joke at me because I was so tall and I didn't know the game and couldn't play it.

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.

I've been in Philadelphia 10 years, man. I knew it was going to be a challenge, mentally. I always thought life would come to an end if I ever left Philadelphia. And I feel like a newborn. Being in Denver it's just a better situation for me. And I'm just happy that I feel like I got an opportunity where I can win basketball games here.

I can't play the game of basketball and live my life on what other people expect me to do or what they think I should do. That doesn't make me happy. What makes me happy is being able to make plays for my teammates, to be able to represent the name on the back of my jersey.

Why is it that if you happen to be black and over six feet tall, everybody thinks you supposed to play basketball or football?

My parents were kind of over protective people. Me and my sister had to play in the backyard all the time. They bought us bikes for Christmas but wouldn't let us ride in the street, we had to ride in the backyard. Another Christmas, my dad got me a basketball hoop and put it in the middle of the lawn! You can't dribble on grass.

We're still getting better as a team. We're still learning how to play basketball as a team and how to win tough games.

The Dodgers. My favorite hockey team is the Kings. I like the Clippers in basketball. And I like USC college. Football, the Giants.