Popular quotes about Basketball! Wisdom and inspiration are here! | page 5
I played baseball, and thats pretty much it. Basketball came late, this was, basketball was the sport that I tried to master, I kind of mastered baseball, so basketball was one of those things where I wanted to master this game, so thats why I probably play it the way I do.
Eric WilliamsBasketball isn't just about the bright lights, packed arenas and highlight reels. Basketball is a way of life. Basketball is a relationship between you and the ball, you and your teammates. If you love the game, nobody can take that from you.
Michael JordanWhen I step on that basketball court, I'm thinking about basketball, I'm thinking about winning - but there's so much that goes into thought about how I'm going to open this game up to others. It's so much more than just basketball.
Carmelo AnthonyI 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.
Dwyane WadeI wasn't going to let Jerry Sloan embarrass me, because basketball had a proper role in my life. I suspected my basketball philosophy wasn't the bottom line anyway.
John AmaechiI 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-KerseeI was actually supposed to be a basketball player, not an actress. My parents had me playing basketball on competitive teams when I was in kindergarten. Even though my heart belongs to the arts, I'm a tomboy at heart, too.
ZendayaA 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 DurantCompetition is great for everyone. Sports can teach you so much at an early age, including camaraderie and sportsmanship. Competition aspect is something I've always been big on - I always wanted to compete in something. It was swimming for many years, then I moved on to basketball. I had to find a way to channel my competitive energy, so I'm lucky that basketball worked out for me.
Tim DuncanYou always have to know what business you are in. Everybody thought we were in the basketball business. It's an NBA-team; we are not in the basketball business. We are in the business of creating experiences and memories.
Mark CubanOne 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.
Ronnie ColemanThey say I couldn't play football, I was too small. They say I couldn't play basketball, I wasn't tall. They say I couldn't play baseball at all and now everyday of my life, I ball.
Lil WayneFew would deny that blacks have become very dominant in athletics: football, basketball, track, now dominant in tennis and dominant in golf.
Jesse JacksonI can't say there was one thing in particular that helped prepare me for life beyond basketball except for the exposure to college and that laboratory, that allows us to learn who and what we are, and to be able to utilize that knowledge in real life.
Len ElmoreI only want to play basketball, and play it well and be happy about it. But I realize that with being famous, comes a lot of demands.
Yao MingMy overall point is that 'one and dones' are not healthy for college basketball. I should not have made it personal to Kentucky and its players and I apologize.
Bobby KnightOn an awards-show day, I can play basketball, go in, take a shower and put on a tux - it takes me three minutes to put on a tux - and be out the door in 15 minutes.
George ClooneyTennis was always there for me, which was lucky. I would go play baseball, basketball, football, hang with my brother, do whatever, and at the end of the day I'd come back and say, 'Hey, Mom, would you hit 15 minutes worth of balls with me?'
Jimmy ConnorsThe 1992 US Olympic basketball team is the best sports team ever, the equivalent of rounding up the greatest American writers of the last century or so and watching them collaborate: 'OK, Twain, you do the dialogue and hand off to Faulkner. He'll do the interior monologue. Hemingway will edit - no, don't make that face, you know you overwrite. And be nice to Cheever. He's young, but he's got a good ear. Wharton and Cather can't play - they're girls.'
Anna QuindlenBasketball is a game that gives you every chance to be great, and puts every pressure on you to prove that you haven't got what it takes. It never takes away the chance, and it never eases up on the pressure.
Bob SundvoldThe biggest thing that I felt basketball could do for me was help me get a good education.
Julius ErvingHandball, swimming, running, jumping, basketball, and boxing were as much a part of me as breathing.
Gene TunneyThe world is not checking in with us to see what skills we've picked up, what idea we've concocted, what dreams we carry in our hearts. When a job opens, whether it's in the chorus line or on the assembly line, it goes to the person standing there. It goes to the eager beaver the boss sees when he looks up from his work: the pint-sized kid standing at the basketball court on the playground waiting for one of the older boys to head home. "Hey, kid, wanna play?"
Chris MatthewsThe great thing about basketball is you work as hard as you can to individually get better so that your team can win
Doug CollinsIn 1948, I began coaching basketball at UCLA. Each hour of practice we worked very hard. Each day we worked very hard. Each week we worked very hard. Each season we worked very hard. Four fourteen years we worked very hard and didn't win a national championship. However, a national championship was won in the fifteenth year. Another in the sixteenth. And eight more in the following ten years.
John WoodenWhatever I lack in size and strength and speed, I kind of make up for in being grittier. When it comes to something like basketball I'm definitely not the best guy on the court, but I love elbowing and pushing people out or boxing them out.
Steven YeunWith basketball, if a guy is having an off night you still can say he's a good athlete. But with a comedian, you see them in front of the wrong audience - and they can look like complete amateurs. It's remarkable.
Gary GulmanI played in Joe Louis in a playoff game. I played there when the roof caved in for half a season. The facility is great for basketball because it goes straight up, so you feel like the fans are on top of you.
Bill LaimbeerAdam [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 GoldbergThe function of football, soccer, basketball and other passion-sports in modern industrial society is the transference of boredom, frustration, anger and rage into socially acceptable forms of combat. A temporary substitute for war; for nationalism; identification with something bigger than the self.
Edward AbbeyHell, I'm going to play pro basketball. I'm going to maybe be famous. I'm going to write books.
John Edgar WidemanThere are very few sports where you can find that tranquility. Some people find that in golf, but when you're in the water it's such a difference from the golf course or the basketball court. That's what makes surfing unique over any other sport.
Troy PolamaluI 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.
Ira GlassIf you're playing basketball with someone who's better than you, you have to get better or else it's no fun
Jason BehrMy daughter genuinely asked me to hand her the basketball bat. I might be failing as a father.
Greg BehrendtI 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.
Andrew SkurkaOur feelings can be hurt, but you can take a yoga class, you can pray, you can play some basketball - you can figure out things for your hurt feelings.
Killer Mike[The movies] glamorize game day a little bit too much. It's such a focus. They miss a lot of the nuts and bolts, and the time that goes into the preparation each week, or each couple of days in basketball.
Vince KehresI had concussions as a kid playing football and basketball, and know what it feels like and to have someone say 'Just rub some dirt on it, and get back in there.'
Billy CorganTo me, first and foremost, basketball is a fun sport. It is a hobby, an interest. And second, it is a profession. I feel that I am very fortunate that I can find a professional job that I really, really love.
Yao MingRacing 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.
Trevor BayneI could run 200 yards at a stretch, I could duck between players, I felt free to make plays that suited me best. It wasn't like football then and basketball today, where coaches tell you what foot to put down.
Jim BrownIt makes me think about how you hear these young people say, "I see you, man." Or even if you go and watch some basketball game over the summer and the announcer goes, "I see you," and you see that player smile. You know what I mean? That thing of just being recognized, especially when you do a little subtle thing. I don't know.
Paul BeattyI think the most important thing about coaching is that you have to have a sense of confidence about what you're doing. You have to be a salesman and you have to get your players, particularly your leaders, to believe in what you're trying to accomplish on the basketball floor.
Phil JacksonBasketball is a great mystery. You can do everything right. You can have the perfect mix of talent and the best system of offense in the game. You can devise a foolproof defensive strategy and prepare your players for every possible eventuality. But if the players donโt have a sense of oneness as a group, your efforts wonโt pay off. And the bond that unites a team can be so fragile, so elusive.
Phil Jackson