Quotes About Basketball

I also wanted my basketball players to know that I really cared about them. Forget basketball; as a person, I cared, I cared about their family.

My dad was a huge basketball influence in my life on and off the court. Playing for him and having him around, having him push me harder than maybe another coach would have was a huge blessing for me. Getting to play with my brother was an unreal experience at Oklahoma, in college, it's some of the funnest times I've had in basketball, and I'll cherish those memories forever.

I am a basketball player, and I would like to focus my energy on basketball. The other things, I would rather not do. It is not something I am greatly interested in, but I know it is my responsibility.

My father was a soccer player. All my friends played basketball though, so I stuck with 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.

They 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.

I want the younger kids, the basketball players in high school and college to hear from me and let them know that when you come to the league, this is what happens and this is how I feel as an NBA player. And it's not all peachy keen.

Like life, basketball is messy and unpredictable. It has its way with you, no matter how hard you try to control it. The trick is to experience each moment with a clear mind and open heart. When you do that, the game - and life - will take care of itself.

Basketball can serve as a kind of metaphor for ultimate cooperation. It is a sport where success, as symbolized by the championship, requires that the dictates of community prevail over selfish impulses.

I've always been like that. I was a tomboy when I was a kid, so I was always playing baseball and basketball and football and stuff as a kid with the boys.

You should sub a player out when you see a player not going full-speed or playing selfish basketball.

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

The 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?"

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.

Moving to the US was quite a transition for me, to say the least! There were, and still are so many new things to get used to: the language, food, culture, even the style of basketball is different here!

Mr. Watras asked me whether I was practicing, and I told him I was practicing my tissue basketball skills.

I had no experience with broadcasting basketball games, so I took a tape recorder and went to a playground where there was a summer league, and I stood up in the top of the stands and I called the game.

I 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.

Singers 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.

There was not too much to do as a kid when we arrived in Germany. Playing basketball and listening to music gave me something to do.

First off, I'd like to thank God for changing my life. It let me really realize what life is all about. Basketball is just a platform for me to inspire people, and I realize that.

But basketball was always something I was good at, that I was passionate about. I just didn't have the confidence to play in front of people at the time, at that early age. Now, I feel like I'm ready to play in front of people and play on the big stage.

If it's sports and women's golf, men's golf, and it's on TV, I'm watching it. I watched those ladies do what they do at such a high level, and she's obviously a big basketball fan and a fan of ours, too. So it was cool to have that interaction.

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.

I can't palm a basketball.

Your best athletes might give basketball a try just when they think, geez, this might be something that pays off for me in the end.

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.

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 want every day to be the most boring news day ever. I want every day to be about spelling bee champions and baby basketball. It's better to have no comedy material than a horrific news day.

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 think it's important I stay connected to every part of my personality. I play basketball. I rock climb. I paint. I'm a little bit scattered, but it's so I can convincingly play all these characters.

We don't need no more rappers, we don't need no more basketball players, no more football players. We need more thinkers. We need more scientists. We need more managers. We need more mathematicians. We need more teachers. We need more people who care; you know what I'm saying? We need more women, mothers, fathers, we need more of that, we don't need any more entertainers

To me, personally, it doesn't matter what color I am. Black or white, Asian or Hispanic, it doesn't matter to me as long as the message I'm portraying to people that watch me on TV is positive and it shows that they can do things that are different besides catching a football, hitting a baseball or shooting a basketball. I'm just showing them that stepping outside the bubble is OK and they can be successful at it.

Something I like to do a lot is just sit by water when there’s a current and just stare into the water. I don’t fish, I don’t hunt, I don’t scuba, I don’t spear, don’t boat, don’t play basketball or football – I excel at staring into space. I’m really good at that.

I can see well enough on the 28-meter basketball court.

Everybody in the world is talking about Canada…outside of the US, there is probably no country in the world that is producing more blue-chip young basketball talent than Canada.

I don't really want to go into my problems with the team at the time except to say that no one's ever had to pay me to play basketball.

I played three sports in high school, baseball, football and basketball. Baseball really helped me a lot.

Michael Jordan was a cultural icon that everybody on the playground wanted to be. The Bulls dynasty was a huge part of my childhood and it was the peak of my basketball interest as a kid.

Confidence allows you to progress in something you're attempting to accomplish, whether it's playing basketball or baseball or whether it's trying to succeed in business.

The risk of failure is a very personal thing. One of the quotes I like, I think this came from the famous basketball coach from California - John Wooden - is that, "Successful people - winners - do everything necessary to prepare to win, without the certainty of winning." Everybody would do everything necessary to prepare to win if winning was a certainty. So you're willing to put yourself out publicly and privately and say, "I'm going to do this."

The goal in life is the same as in basketball: make the effort to do the best you are capable of doing--in marriage, at your job, in the community, for your country. Make the effort to contribute in whatever way you can. You may do it materially or with time, ideas, or work. Making the effort to contribute is what counts. The effort is what counts in everything.

I love basketball players for what they do for their size - so graceful.

I needed to go to class; I needed to go to practice; I needed to have a life away from basketball.

I 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.

Over the years, I'll admit, I lost the love for basketball a little bit.

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

I think I've gotten more attention after the Olympics than any other U.S. athlete, and it's really great that people are recognizing who I am and what I do. You look at Shaq and you see a basketball player. You look at Tiger Woods and you see a golfer. But people are responding to who I am.