Quotes About Basketball

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 love basketball, but playing basketball doesn't fully define who I am. I was always a good student, too.

You just gotta be who you are, and I think it's time to get rid of this whole National Basketball Association. Call it the TBA, the Thug Basketball Association, and stop calling them teams. Call 'em gangs.

Being on the Reebok brand for eight years now, I understand where their focus is and who they cater their on-court and off-court shoes towards. Right now, it's basically the movement. There's a new retro- it's in style, it's hot and again it's all about comfort. Comfort for me is everything. I've played many and many of basketball games and so now when I'm off the court, I still want to put something on that's comfortable but still be able to have the style of a basketball-type shoe.

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.

Perhaps 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.

I couldn't imagine not playing basketball. To me, basketball is what life is all about.

Basketball, and the people I have met through the game have far and away had the largest impact on my life. Almost every positive role model I have ever had was a coach, mentor, or teammate.

I am sure that no man can derive more pleasure from money or power than I do from seeing a pair of basketball goals in some out of the way place.

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.

Magic Johnson, former basketball player, may run for mayor of L.A. in the next election. Remember the good 'ol days when only qualified people ran for office like actors and professional wrestlers.

The clothes do not match my personality. I'm more of a very conservative, blue-blazer kind of guy. But as far as my personality, it's a lot of hot-dog mustard - have a lot of a fun and a lot of excitement. I feel like I'm 68; I act like I'm 12, talking about a game of basketball.

Any American boy can be a basketball star if he grows up, up, up.

We 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.

The 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.'

I can score the basketball, but I think I can pass pretty well or I can make the correct pass. I'm not the type of guy who's just going to throw the ball inbounds to a guy who's wide open. I can make the right pass.

I 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.

I would never predict a run like that. Last season, that's beyond reality. I think we can go 25-14. I think we can play 10 games over .500, even more than (that) over .500, and that would be a great run. Any time you go 30-15 or something like that, that's pretty incredible basketball.

When people ask me what I miss most about the game, it's being in the locker room and getting to know the guys. Back in those days, we had roommates. We had to talk basketball and that was a great way to understand the game itself and form those lasting relationships.

I pray if I ever find out I have only about three minutes to live it's during a basketball game, because then I'll have, what, 10, 12 years to live?

I don't think you can explain why all these other sports and college basketball have a fair representation of African American coaches, but college football doesn't. You can dig and scramble and scratch, but at the end of the day I think it's just pure, old-fashioned racism.

I don't play basketball for the money. I don't play it for the crowd. When I didn't have a friend, when I was lonely, I always knew I could grab that orange pill and go hoop. I could go and dunk on somebody. If things weren't going right, I could make a basket and feel better.

You have to be wired a certain way to be a professional basketball player, and the way my body grew, something happened genetically that allowed me to become a lot more explosive.

I'm not chasing championships. Championship's chasing us. I'm not doing that. I want my players to be better people once they leave campus because this is a life lesson. This is more than basketball. This is life lessons that we're trying to teach.

My grandchild has taught me what true love means. It means watching Scooby-Doo cartoons while the basketball game is on another channel.

I got on the scale and I weighed around 203. I'm only 5'7. I was about to turn 30, and I wasn't active anymore. So I started working with a nutritionist and a trainer. I played basketball twice a week. And soon it all just became a habit for me. I became addicted to something good for a change.

I wanna make uniforms for my high school basketball team through brand Yeezy.

I started playing professional basketball in 1971, and I played professionally for five seasons before going to Philadelphia.

The game of basketball has been everything to me. My place of refuge, place I've always gone where I needed comfort and peace. It's been the site of intense pain and the most intense feelings of joy and satisfaction. It's a relationship that has evolved over time, given me the greatest respect and love for the game.

Basketball teams, after the perfunctory lay-up drill, fall into the crowded isolation and personal style of 10 city kids shooting at the same basket or playing one-on-one.

I play basketball, I surf and swim and go to the cinema and listen to music and read. I like shopping.

We can have no progress without change, whether it be basketball or anything else.

To 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.

In football, there were drinks available everywhere you looked. On a golf tournament, you could find one free anywhere you wanted it. In tennis and NBA basketball, everybody had a hospitality suite, and so you could go there and load up if you wanted to.

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.

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.

The only place where we're not segregated in mass is in sports. You go to a football stadium or a basketball arena, and all of America is there: the wealthy, the poor, the black, white, Latino, conservative, liberal, and we all talk about sports.

I love that basketball gives me the opportunities to do good things for people and to point them towards the Man who died for our sins on the cross.

My teammates know I'm down to earth. I'll joke with them. But when it comes to basketball, I try to be serious about it.

A lot of times I blend in a little bit easier because I'm not like a basketball player who's going to stand out because of his height.

Basketball, like all sports, is predicated on the execution of fundamentals. The coach is a teacher. His subject: fundamentals

For a competitive junkie like me, golf is a great solution because it smacks you in the face every time you think you have accomplished something. That to me has taken over a lot of the energy and competitiveness for basketball.

You want to do Olympics just like you do a pro football game or a basketball game? Be my guest. Watch it all fade away.

People in general misunderstand me. I'm very aware of the stereotype that comes with being a basketball player. But I'm well-rounded. I'm cultured. It's funny: When I speak, people are like, "Wow! You can really talk." I'm like, "What did you expect?"

I always tried to make clear that basketball is not the ultimate. It is of small importance in comparison to the total life we live. There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior. Until that is done, we are on an aimless course that runs in circles and goes nowhere.

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.

I get scared of a lot of attention. I get scared of the spotlight. And I'm not talking about on the basketball court.

Scientists contribute in a variety of ways and I don't think I can singular one even including [Albert] Einstein, that I can say that he's the best. We don't work like the best basketball player and the best musician and so on. Science is a collective effort.