Top 100 Basketball's Quotes
#1. Basketball's eras are defined by teams - Celtics, Lakers, Bulls - and baseball's epochs are defined by players - Ruth, Robinson, Mantle - but with football, it's the sideline strategists, the nutty professors and top coated Lears.
J.R. Moehringer
#2. Football's another sport I absolutely despise. Along with baseball. Really, for me, basketball's the only real sport, the only one that matters.
Stephen Graham Jones
#3. That's kind of what I want to do-set my own trend in the basketball world.
Seimone Augustus
#4. Sometimes a player's greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.
Scottie Pippen
#5. It's easier to date a football player for sure. Football players have one game a week, and they practice every day, but they're all at home. In basketball, they're on the road all the time.
Khloe Kardashian
#6. Every team that plays us plays above their heads. That's because of me.
Shaquille O'Neal
#7. There's nothing less than that. I don't care about just going to the playoffs; I've been to the playoffs before.
Allen Iverson
#8. Magic Johnson was in the seventh year of his Hall of Fame career when thoughts of his basketball afterlife led him to the office of uber-executive Michael Ovitz, co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, Hollywood's most powerful agency.
Don Yaeger
#9. I knew Rick Pitino was going to make them play that outbreak, monkey defense. He's been doing it all his life.
Shaquille O'Neal
#10. My rule was I wouldn't recruit a kid if he had grass in front of his house. That's not my world. My world has a cracked sidewalk.
Al McGuire
#11. If I get that thing down there in that area, that's 67% lifetime. If you don't believe me, Google it. I'm on the Internet.
Shaquille O'Neal
#12. 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.
Johnny Weir
#13. I love basketball. I love football. And to me, I think that's a dimension that you don't see with a lot of female leads, especially. I have a genuine love for it, and I always thought it was very interesting to show that side of me.
Cristela Alonzo
#14. I just go out there and play basketball. God's given me the ability. The only thing I can do is go out and play.
Chamique Holdsclaw
#15. I love seeing my teammates succeed. That's what I get more excited about than anything
LeBron James
#16. 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.
Mike D'Antoni
#17. [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 Kehres
#18. Finally, I have someone that's like me. My other two pupils were the opposite sides of the moon. But this guy is on the same side of the moon, is on the same planet that I'm on.
Shaquille O'Neal
#19. You can't defer if you're the person who's in the leadership position.
Mike Krzyzewski
#20. Picking an assistant coach, the first thing I was interested in was the man's character.
Woody Hayes
#21. She understood about the comfort you can get from a small separate world, whether it's a theatre or a basketball team or the inside of a book.
Susan Cooper
#22. The party's just getting started. This is where the fun starts.
Kobe Bryant
#23. I loved the glamour and excitement of the games and, in particular, knowing the names of each and every one of the referees - that's because my mom, a former basketball player, would yell at them from our front-row seats for making bad calls!
Hannah Storm
#24. But that's the thing about basketball: you don't play games on paper.
Bill Simmons
#26. You don't get respect for being an Asian-American basketball player in the U.S.
Jeremy Lin
#27. Today's society wants to skip the process. And I hate that
Tom Izzo
#28. There is a lot of difference at McDonald's between the guy in the back making the fries and the manager up front who is running the place.
Don Meyer
#29. Pat has been instrumental in what we've done here so far and the most selfish thing for me is that I want to see what we've done placed in the hands of the most competent person, and that's Pat. No one would come close to being able to continue to build on what we've done here so far like he will.
Bobby Knight
#30. Basketball is a game of conditioning and fatigue. That's why I believe in practicing a team to train when it's exhausted.
Pat Riley
#31. I don't think it's tough to get there mentally. Your mind is saying, 'You know how to do this.' But your body doesn't always respond.
Sheryl Swoopes
#32. 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.
Hunter S. Thompson
#33. 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.
Woody Allen
#34. Michael Jordan changed so much in basketball, he took his power to make a difference. It's so much going on in music right now and somebody has to make a difference.
Kanye West
#35. 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.
Earl Monroe
#36. The great thing about basketball is it's a live ball. If someone's in your way, push them out of the way, go around them or over them, whatever it takes.
Dolph Schayes
#37. One of the questions I get asked a lot is, 'What do you do to stay in shape?' My glib answer is, 'I play.' But I mean it. Sure, I go to the gym, but I don't spend my life there. Most of my activity is outdoors, whether it's basketball or mountain biking or rock climbing.
Jason Lewis
#38. Basketball has always and will always come first to me but it's also given me the chance to do really fun things and work with really fun people and its something I'm lucky to have.
Blake Griffin
#39. You know what's amazing to me? America. There have been so many people who have stepped up, and I'm just proud to be an American. Yeah, there were some mistakes made, but I don't play the blame game. Let's move forward and rebuild New Orleans.
Charles Barkley
#40. The constant expansion has diluted the talent. Other than that, it's still the same game.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
#41. That's how we like to play basketball, is be physical down there in the paint and force teams to the perimeter.
Bill Laimbeer
#42. I criticize the NFL in many ways, but I think it's made great strides. I think college basketball, great strides. College football means so much to alumni, doesn't it? It sort of represents the school. It's when you go back; it's at the beginning of the school year.
Frank Deford
#43. People got to realize that the owners who been paying me are a lot richer than I am. It's not like I was born rich; I had to play basketball to make this type of money.
Moses Malone
#44. You know what the game of golf is, don't you? It's basketball for people who can't jump and chess for people who can't think.
Tom Robbins
#45. I'm a Christian first. I'm a family guy second. As much as I like coaching, as much as I like basketball, it's third, fourth, or fifth down the line.
Steve Alford
#46. I'm playing against great players, playing against the best in the world. The competition-that's what I've always wanted.
Kobe Bryant
#47. I was about 14, and my friend's stepdad asked me to do a 10K with him because his son - who was more into basketball - didn't want to. It was amazing, and I still remember the time I got: 48:23.
Sean Astin
#48. Everywhere I've been, I've been the best player. I love being a leader, and I love being the best. I just want to get better. It's not about being cocky or selfish or anything like that. It's just how I am.
LeBron James
#49. Basketball is my passion, I love it. But my family and friends mean everything to me. That's what's important. I need my phone so I can keep in contact with them at all times.
LeBron James
#50. This summer is going to be a different summer for a lot of people. Everyone is going to take care of their own business and everyone is going to do what's best for them, including me.
Shaquille O'Neal
#51. One-and-done is the most damaging thing in college basketball. It brings money into the college game, because it kickstarts the bidding war. When you know a kid can't turn pro and is going to go to school for one year and then go pro, that's when you see everyone going to games and courting players.
Sonny Vaccaro
#52. We're talking about being relevant again. I want the Sixers to be on people's tongues again ... I want the Sixers to be the basketball team that people want to see.
Doug Collins
#53. Everyone thought I was going to die like a year later, they didn't know. So I helped educate sports, and then the world, that a man living with HIV can play basketball. He's not going to give it to anybody by playing basketball.
Magic Johnson
#54. It's not about any one person. You've got to get over yourself and realize that it takes a group to get this thing done
Gregg Popovich
#55. In recent generations, women's sports have been a blessing. Some of us can remember the bad old days in the '50s, when we would discover in casual schoolyard play that a girl could outrun most of us or hold her own in basketball or hit a softball - but there were no teams, no coaches, for girls.
George Vecsey
#56. In Phil's case, I was personally thrilled he came back, because I think it's huge for the league. When you think about what he's done and how many championships he's won, there's always drama when he comes back in.
Gregg Popovich
#57. The greatest words you hear in college basketball are Ohio State advances. (The Iowa upset) is amazing. But again, it's all the proof you need that there's no guarantee.
Thad Matta
#59. Basketball was always a game to me. One of the greatest things in life for me was to be able to play what I loved dearly and get paid for it. So it was always a game to me and that's how I perceived everything.
Larry Bird
#60. Mental Toughness is doing the right thing for the team when it's not the best thing for you
Bill Belichick
#61. The coach's job is to be part servant in helping each player reach his goals within the team concept.
Dean Smith
#62. When you've got a guy that's going to look for you, you run. A lot of people think I can't run, but my thing was I wasn't going to be running if you're not going to throw it. I know Nash will throw it.
Shaquille O'Neal
#63. Basketball is my passion, and I love it, and I love to see my players succeed. I'm here for them and my children. That's my passion.
Rick Pitino
#64. There's no other state, none, that's as connected to their basketball program as this one. Because those other states have other programs. Michigan has Michigan State, California has UCLA, North Carolina has Duke. It's Kentucky throughout this whole state, and that's what makes us unique.
John Calipari
#65. 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.
Frank Deford
#66. There's so much that I want to do. I feel like I'm the Magic Johnson of rap. You know, Magic was great on the basketball court, but he's bigger as a businessman.
Snoop Dogg
#67. It's his show and I'm just trying to make him look good. If we were the same age there might be a little tension, but I'm on my way out ... I am here to serve your every need, King James.
Shaquille O'Neal
#68. Just because I had a good game doesn't change who I am,
my identity is in Christ and not in basketball, I love playing basketball and it's my job but at the same time I recognize that I'm a sinner and that's not gonna change regardless of how well I play on the court
Jeremy Lin
#69. This is a mind over matter thing. We have to find it within ourselves to play for two hours. We love the game, so it's not like we're doing something we hate. We're doing something we love.
Kay Yow
#70. Pia was chopping up an enormous cabbage, a cabbage big as a basketball. The cabbage was of an extraordinary size. It was a big cabbage. "That's a big cabbage," Edward said. "Big," Pia said.
Donald Barthelme
#71. Don't let talent get in way of team performance. Great players do what's outstanding for team, not what makes them stand out
Jerry West
#72. I also tell them that your education can take you way farther than a football, baseball, track, or basketball will - that's just the bottom line.
Bo Jackson
#73. My whole career has been trying to please people in basketball. Now it's time to please myself.
Candace Parker
#74. Our offensive philosophy is to simply find a way to get the ball into the hands of our team's best player.
Kelvin Sampson
#75. I've always considered myself a crunch-time player. I just love having the ball in my hands. Everyone in the arena knows the ball is supposed to be in your hands and you still make it. It's the odds. I love the odds.
Reggie Miller
#76. That's what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that's great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on.
Mike Krzyzewski
#77. The thing I like about my body is that it's strong. I can move furniture around my apartment. I can ride my horse ... I can play basketball. It's a well functioning machine.
Cindy Crawford
#78. I'm a leader. I'm the leader of this team, and they look for me at any point in the game, and that's not just scoring-wise, I do other things.
LeBron James
#79. You can't pick and choose the days that you feel like being responsible. It's not something that disappears when you're tired.
Pat Summitt
#80. I collect different game hats, like Syracuse Women's Volleyball; I have a Navy Basketball hat. They're all vintage but in new condition.
Theophilus London
#81. If you twisted my arm today, I would probably vote for James Harden, he's single-handedly put that Houston Rockets team in the position they are in today. It would be tough.
Mark Jackson
#82. A team should be an extension of a coach's personality. My teams are arrogant and obnoxious.
Al McGuire
#83. I'm laid back, I take my time, get the job done. Lebron is high flying, dunking, passing the ball well. He's getting the job done, too. But we're different.
Carmelo Anthony
#84. Free agency screws everybody's allegiances up. Whether it be football, baseball, hockey, basketball, whatever it may be. It's really hard.
Bill Goldberg
#86. If they want to win right now, I'm all for it. That's all I said the whole time. If you want to wait five years, let me know. My legs aren't as young as they used to be.
Kobe Bryant
#87. Joy comes from places you least expect it. It's usually the simple things, like watching my son play basketball or going through Central Park when the blossoms are blooming.
Dave Gahan
#88. Discipline is the whole key to being successful. We all get 24 hours each day. That's the only fair thing; it's the only thing that's equal. What we do with those 24 hours is up to us.
Sam Huff
#89. 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.
LeBron James
#90. Alexander Hamilton realized that warfare was part and parcel of human nature, and it's something we had to prepare for.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
#91. I think leadership is never singular. In a good organization, it's plural.
Mike Krzyzewski
#92. No matter how good you get, there's always something further out there.
Bill Walton
#93. Basketball is my refuge, my sanctuary. I go back to being a kid on the playground. When I get here, it's all good.
Kobe Bryant
#94. The truth of basketball is done in competition and fundamentals and team, but there's a lot of other junk that goes around the game.
George Karl
#95. While I sign off on trades or free agents, I've rarely overruled my basketball people's decisions. But I'm not shy about steering the discussion or pushing deeper if something doesn't make sense to me.
Paul Allen
#96. Mr. Lemon-Man has inspired millions across the world through his gift. I don't refer only to basketball, but also to his magnificent gift of caring, sharing, and loving all people. I only hope my kids would possess an ounce of the Lemon-Man's heart, which easily radiates through that smile.
A. C. Green
#97. He's very knowledgeable. That's the one advantage that I see in Kobe Bryant's career compared to Michael Jordan. Ten years into Kobe Bryant's career, we're seeing a very polished 27-year-old player who's probably got another seven or eight great years ahead of him.
Scottie Pippen
#98. So, yeah, I'm going to try to win the national championship next year. But I'm not going to kill myself doing it. I'm not going to kill my players either. You really start to realize there's a lot more to what we're trying to do then winning games
Geno Auriemma
#99. Our goal is not to win. It's to play together and play hard. Then, winning takes care of itself.
Mike Krzyzewski
#100. I'm a cop, and cops talk. They called me the day he did it, but did you ever hear me say anything about it? I played ball, because that's how I am. I'm true.
Shaquille O'Neal
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