100 Best Basketball Quotes For Inspiration To Win

Basketball quotes said by legendary players and coaches of basketball motivates and encourages those who are interested in the sport to nurture their talent and work hard in order to be successful and well recognized. We have compiled these 100 inspirational quotes to help encourage players to win. We hope these quotes will be of great help to players and couches.

Motivational Basketball Quotes

Are you a basketball player or couch looking for empowerment and motivation? Read the following inspirational basketball quotes. We hope you will find the motivation you need in these powerful quotes.

“Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.’ – Kevin Durant
“The bar is always being raised as you go. The rules are always being rewritten. There’s aggravation that comes with that, but that’s part of what makes triumph so sweet” – Charles Barkley
“A winner is someone who recognizes his God given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills and use these skills to accomplish his goals.” – Larry Bird
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan”
“Basketball is a lifelong game. You continue to learn from the game day in and day out, and all along the way you get better.” – Scottie Pippen
“Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.” – Larry Bird
“A lot of late nights in the gym, a lot of early mornings, especially when your friends are going out, you’re going, to the gym. Those are the sacrifices that you have to make if you want to be an NBA basketball player.’ – Jason Kid
“Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days that you don’t feel like doing them.” – Julius Erving
“You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.” – Arthur Ashe
“It’s okay to make mistakes. That’s how we earn. When we compete, we make mistakes,” – Kareem Abdul- Jabaar
“Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you’ve got him.” – Bill Russell
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what your reputation is merely what others think you are.” – John Wooden
“Put great thought to what and how you practice. Once practice is done you can never get that time back. Did you stimulate the game?” – Kevin Eastman
“I think the reason why I’m the person who I am today is because I went through those tough times when I was younger.” – LeBron James

Basketball Player Quotes

Words said by well-known successful players and couches motivates young and upcoming players to make use of their talents and take basketball serious.

Read the following powerful and inspiring basketball quotes from players.

“I can accept failure; everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
“Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.” – Shaquille O’ Neal
“I gave everything I had to basketball. The passion is still there, but the desire to play is not. It was a great ride.” – Allen Iverson
“Nothing is given. Everything is earned.” – LeBron James
“What do you do to a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” – Dean Smith
“Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” – Bill Russell
“Talent wins’ games, but teamwork and intelligence wins’ championships.” – Michael Jordan
“Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.” – Dean Smith
“Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall. Don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.” – Michael Jordan
“Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” – John Wooden
“Good players want to be coached. Great players want to be told the truth.” – Doc Rivers
Recognize and reward players who put the team first, not just the gifted ones.” – Don Meyers
“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.” – Tim Duncan
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson
The most important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful.” – Kobe Bryant
“In basketball and in life. I have always maintained the philosophy of ‘next play’, what it means is that whatever you have just done is not as important as what you are doing right now.” – Mike Krzyzewski

Short Basketball Quotes

Read the following short beautiful basketball quotes. We hope you will find ones that you relate to on a personal level.

“A couch is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” – John Wooden
“Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation.” – Michael Jordan
“There’s only one thing we can control, and that is how we play hard.” – Don Meyer
“I love seeing my teammates succeed. That’s why I get more excited about that more than anything.” – LeBron James
“To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail.” – Michael Jordan
“Basketball demands from each player the widest range of skills of any of the team sports.” – Mike Huff
“The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson
“Nervous means you want to play. Scared means you don’t want to play.” – Sherman Alexie
“Your limits are somewhere up there, waiting for you to reach beyond infinity.” – Arnold Henry
“Discover your gift, develop your gift, and then give it away every day.” – Don Meyer

Love and Basketball Quotes

All is far in love and basketball. Here is a compilation of love and basketball quotes where players express their love for this beautiful sport.

“I had a lot of voids in my life, and basketball gave me a sense of satisfaction, a sense of identity.” – John Thompson
“Basketball is a beautiful game when it is played in what I personally believe is the right way, with every player knowing and executing his or her role within the team concept.” – Mike Huff
“I love fashion as much as I love basketball! It is a great joy for me to express myself through designing my own collection.” – Hakeem Olajuwon
“I love basketball and I’m committed to it, but if I have to lock up my spirit because of basketball, it ain’t worth it.” – Steve Nash
“Chick Hearn taught me how to play basketball, how to think about basketball. He taught me how to love basketball.” – Roland Lazenby
“He loves basketball. And I said Obama loves basketball. Let’s start there, all right. Start there.” – Dennis Rodman
“I love basketball because you could be having a bad day in your life and while you’re on the court it gives you a clear mind. I’m not worried about anything. I’m there just playing freely and I go out there all the time and have fun.” – Derrick Rose
“I’m a competitive person. I love the game of basketball. I’m a gym rat.” – Paul Piera
“Dear basketball, from the moment I started rolling my dad’s tube socks and shooting imaginary game winning shots. I fell in love with you.” – Kobe Bryant
“I play basketball for love and money, and they come in interchangeable order, depending on how things are going when you ask the question.” – Tom Heinsohn
“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.” – Stephen Curry
“And the game of basketball, I play, I play first off because I love it. I love to have fun. I love to run up and down the court.” – Kevin Durant
“I love to play basketball, But I haven’t played in a while. But if I could get back on the court and play, I definitely would.” – Curtis Granderson
“I’m a basketball player. That’s what I do and what I love but that’s just not all who I am. I’m talented in a lot of different areas.” – Kevin Durant
“I love the flow of the game. There’s a certain fluidity to basketball. I don’t enjoy watching baseball or football in the same way.” – Adam Yauch
“Basketball. I love it. I can’t believe these giants move like kids. They are so flexible.” – Jurgen Klopp

Famous Basketball Quotes

These famous quotes are well known because they have been used as reference in many instances and most of them were said by legends of the game. They give a clear picture of what goes on and off the pitch.

“When you think you have done enough, do a little more, because someone out there is working harder that you.” – Larry Bird
“Approach the game with no preset agendas and you’ll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts.” – Phil Jackson
“I think that my God- given attributes, big hands, and big feet, the way that I’m built, proportion wise, just made basketball the most inviting sport for me to play.” – Julius Erving
“I’ve never lost a game I just ran out of time.” – Michael Jordan
“If you want consistency, then you perform. This is a performance job. You get paid to perform. Your money is guaranteed, but your minutes are not.” – Isiah Thomas
“I have self-doubt. I have insecurity. I have fear of failure. I have nights when I show up at the arena and I’m like, ‘My back hurts, my feet hurt, my knees hurt. I don’t have it. I just want to chill. We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.” – Kobe Bryant
“Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” – Michael Jordan
“The most we can hope for is to create the best possible conditions for success, then let go of the outcome. The ride is a lot more fun that way.” – Phil Jackson
“You don’t need great skill to be a tough rebounder; being a rebounder is all about effort, determination and physicality.” – Mike Malone
“The basketball court to me during a game is the most peaceful place I can imagine. On the basketball court, I worry about nothing. When I’m out there, no one can bother me.” – Michael Jordan
“Your best player has to set a tone of intolerance for anything that gets in the way of winning.” – Jeff Van Gundy
“Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.” – Larry Bird
“Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.” – Kareem Abdul- Jabbar
“I look at my jersey and see the NBA logo, I’m like, ‘I didn’t think I’s be here.” – Kevin Durant
“Discipline is doing what has to be done, when it has to be done, as well as it can be done, and doing it that way all the time.” – Bob Knight
“Good thing in this business is that you just have to make one big shot and that’s enough to make you forget 9 other shots that you missed.” – Guy Zucker
I’ve missed more than 9 000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed”- Michael Jordan

Funny Basketball Quotes

Games and training can be hard and stressful, which is why we came to the rescue and put together this list of funny basketball to make you laugh as you rest for a moment.

“This is basketball, not figure skating. You don’t get extra points for degree of difficulty.” – Bob Hurley
“What is so fascinating about sitting around watching a bunch of pituitary cases stuff a ball through a hoop.” – Woody Allen
“Basketball, a game which won’t be fit for people until they set the basketball umbilicus-high and return the giraffes to the zoo.” – Ogden Nash
“Shooting is just like toe nails. They may fall off occasionally, but you know they’ll always come back.” – Charles Johnson
“A tough day at the office is even tougher when your office contains spectators seating.” – Nik Posa
“If you make every game a life and death proposition, you’re going to have problems. For one thing, you’ll be dead a lot.” – Dean Smith
“We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors.” – Weldon Drew
“If I weren’t earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming.” – Charles Barkley
“Old basketball players never die. They just sit in front of you at the movies.” – David Young
“You can’t play football alone, can’t play baseball alone, but you could take a basketball and find a hoop anywhere.” – Bernard King

Basketball Quotes Wallpaper

Here are inspirational basketball quotes that can be used as quotes. Read through and find your favorite.

“I’m playing; I’m here. I’m going to fight until they tell me they don’t want me anymore.” – Steve Nash
“In order to achieve positive results, one must work for them, not hope for the.” – Bob Knight
Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.” – Michael Jordan
“If every basketball player worked as hard as I did, I’d be out of a job.” – Steve Nash
“The goal is to make practice more difficult, physically/ mentally, than anything your players will face during a game.” – Bob Knight
“If all I’m remembered for is being a good basketball player, then I’ve done a bad job with the rest of my life.” – Isiah Thomas
“The day I stopped worrying about stats is the day I started winning.” – Shaquille O’ Neal
“One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.” – Kareem Abdul- Jabbar
“It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.” – John Wooden
“People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning.” – Kobe Bryant
“They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they’d make up their minds.” – Wilt Chamberlain
“The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I’d make my teammates play.” – Bill Russell
“What is love? Love is playing every game as if it’s your last.” – Michael Jordan
“The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.” – Charles Barkley
“Not only is there more to life than basketball, there’s a lot more to basketball than basketball.” – Mike Huff
“You know, that’s all basketball is. I f someone loves something you take it away, it’s like what does he do now? What does someone do? That’s what happened with me.” – Gilbert Arenas

We hope as you read through these quotes you were able to find ones that you relate to and helped shape your life. Continue sharing these quotes with others so that they can be inspired too.