Basketball Quotations

Funny Basketball Quotations

Winning is like deodorant – it comes up and a lot of things don’t stink.
Doc Rivers

I haven’t been able to slam-dunk the basketball for the past five years. Or, for the thirty-eight years before that, either.
Dave Barry

There are really only two plays: Romeo and Juliet, and put the darn ball in the basket.
Abe Lemmons

Winning is overrated. The only time it is really important is in surgery and war.
Al McGuire

I hate it. It looks like a stickup at 7-Eleven. Five guys standing there with their hands in the air.
Norm Sloan, commenting on zone defense
We’re shooting 100 percent – 60 percent from the field and 40 percent from the free-throw line.
Norm Stewart

Hilarious

When I dunk, I put something on it. I want the ball to hit the floor before I do.
Darryl Dawkins

The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy.
Jerry Tarkanian

When I went to Catholic high school in Philadelphia, we just had one coach for football and basketball. He took all of us who turned out and had us run through a forest. The ones who ran into the trees were on the football team.
George Raveling

Fans never fall asleep at our games, because they’re afraid they might get hit by a pass.
George Raveling

I know the Virginia players are smart because you need a 1500 SAT to get in. I have to drop bread crumbs to get our players to and from class.
George Raveling

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

This year we plan to run and shoot. Next season we hope to run and score.
Billy Tubbs

I liked the choreography, but I didn’t care for the costumes.
Tommy Tune, on why he doesn’t play basketball

Basketball Quotes on the Game

It is not how big you are, it’s how big you play.
Author Unknown

Habits are first cobwebs, then cables.
Author Unknown

Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass; it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.
Author Unknown

The more you sweat in practice, the less you bleed in battle.
Author Unknown

Pain is nothing compared to what it feels like to quit.
Author Unknown

The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd.
Author Unknown

Losers quit when they’re tired. Winners quit when they’ve won.
Author Unknown


My responsibility is getting all my players playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back.
Author Unknown

If you think small things don’t matter, think of the last game you lost by one point.
Author Unknown


Basketball doesn’t build character it reveals it.
Author Unknown

Don’t be afraid to ask dumb questions.  They’re easier to take than dumb mistakes.
Author Unknown

On the Court

I try to do the right thing at the right time. They may just be little things, but usually they make the difference between winning and losing.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

One man can be a crucial ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go. Don’t ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

We try to stress the little things because little things lead to big things.
Steve Alford

Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up.
Red Auerbach

The best way to forget ones self is to look at the world with attention and love.
Red Auerbach

Just do what you do best.
Red Auerbach

The reason we win games is not typical of a top 5 team. We’re winning on execution and heart and guts and playing smart.
Mark Few

Natural abilities are like natural plants; they need pruning by study.
Red Auerbach

Some say you have to use your five best players, but I found out you win with the five that fit together best as a team.
Red Auerbach

I don’t hire good coaches, I hire good people. If they turn out to be good coaches, too, that’s a plus.
Geno Auriemma

I know that I’m never as good or bad as any single performance. I’ve never believed my critics or my worshippers, and I’ve always been able to leave the game at the arena.
Charles Barkley

The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.
Charles Barkley

If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful!
Charles Barkley

Inspirational Quotations on Hoops

Coaching is easy. Winning is the hard part.
Elgin Baylor

What you specifically teach is what your players will do best.
Dick Bennett

Practice to beat the best.
Dick Bennett

When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.
Larry Bird

You never make any of the shots you never take. 87% of the ones you do take, you’ll miss too. I make 110% of my shots.
Larry Bird

Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.
Larry Bird

A winner is someone who recognizes his God- given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.
Larry Bird

Criticize on defense and encourage on offense.
John Brady

If you want team play, you must stress defense. Defense makes players unselfish.
John Brady

All the successful teams I’ve ever seen have three characteristics: They play unselfish, they play together, and they play hard.
Larry Brown

It’s a Mental Game

The trouble with officials is they just don’t care who wins.
Tommy Canterbury

A guy who gives you less than what he has to give is, one, telling you what he thinks of you, and two, telling you what he thinks of himself.
Pete Carill

The two ingredients in success in basketball are playing hard and playing intelligently.
Pete Carill

Everybody pulls for David, nobody roots for Goliath.
Wilt Chamberlain

Do your best when no one is looking. If you do that, then you can be successful in anything that you put your mind to.
Bob Cousy

I don’t try to get players emotionally up for a game; it creates too many peaks and valleys… I strive for even keel; they will get up for the big games.
Denny Crum

Success doesn’t stop when you get there.
Michael Jordan

The difference in winning and losing is most often… not quitting.
Walt Disney

Motivational

Systems win!
Believe in your system, and then sell it to your players.
Billy Donovan

We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors.
Weldon Drew

Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.
Tim Duncan

To be a great teacher of the game you must study the game; know your craft & be proud of your knowledge; but never satisfied with your knowledge.
Kevin Eastman

To be great we need to win games we aren’t supposed to win.
Julius Erving

I keep both eyes on my man. The basket hasn’t moved on me yet.
Julius Erving

If you don’t do what’s best for your body, you’re the one who comes up on the short end.
Julius Erving

Sometimes this thing becomes bigger than life itself. It isn’t.
Mark Few

If you are going to take it to the bank, then you better cash it in.
Shannon Fish

Basketball is like photography, if you don’t focus, all you have is the negative.
Dan Frisby

We win because we play together as a team.
John Havlicek

I keep both eyes on my man. The basket hasn’t moved on me yet.
Julius Erving

Not only is there more to life than basketball, there’s a lot more to basketball than basketball.
Phil Jackson

Who wants it more?

Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.
Phil Jackson

You can’t be afraid to fail.  It’s the only way you succeed…you’re not gonna succeed all the time, and I know that.
LeBron James

I like criticism. It makes you strong.
LeBron James

Sometimes, adrenaline flows into momentum.
Dennis Johnson

Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.
Magic Johnson

Great Team

The key is not the “will to win” – everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.
Bobby Knight

My practices were not set up to be easy or enjoyed.
Bobby Knight
The goal is to
 make practice more difficult, physically/mentally, than anything your players will face during a game.
Bobby Knight

Basketball is a full court game, so every drill must be done full court.
Bobby Knight

Passing is your best weapon against man to man. Dribble penetration is your best weapon against zone.
Bobby Knight

You don’t play against opponents. You play against the game of basketball.
Bobby Knight

Believe that the loose ball that you are chasing has your name wirtten on it.
Mike Krzyzewski

Preparation for the Game

Prepare for every game like you just lost your last game.
Lon Kruger

One day of practice is like one day of clean living. It doesn’t do you any good.
Abe Lemmons 

Basketball is the MTV of sports.
Sara Levinson

You always have to give 100%,because if you don’t someone, somewhere will give 100% and they will beat you when you meet.
Ed Macauley

I never thought I’d lead the NBA in rebounding, but I got a lot of help from my team-mates – they did a lot of missing.
Moses Malone

They don’t pay you a million dollars for two-hand chest passes.
Pete Maravich

There is nothing wrong with dedication and goals, but if you focus on yourself, all the lights fade away and you become a fleeting moment in life.
Pete Maravich

There is nothing wrong with dedication and goals, but if you focus on yourself, all the lights fade away and you become a fleeting moment in life.
Pete Maravich

When I was losing, they called me nuts. When I was winning they called me eccentric.
Al McGuire

Help one kid at a time. He’ll maybe go back and help a few more.
Al McGuire

I don’t discuss basketball. I dictate basketball. I’m not interested in philosophy classes.
Al McGuire

To win, you’ve got to put the ball in the macramé.
Terry McGuire

Basketball is the MTV of sports.
Sara Levinson

You always have to give 100%,because if you don’t someone, somewhere will give 100% and they will beat you when you meet.
Ed Macauley

I never thought I’d lead the NBA in rebounding, but I got a lot of help from my team-mates – they did a lot of missing.
Moses Malone

They don’t pay you a million dollars for two-hand chest passes.
Pete Maravich

There is nothing wrong with dedication and goals, but if you focus on yourself, all the lights fade away and you become a fleeting moment in life.
Pete Maravich

There is nothing wrong with dedication and goals, but if you focus on yourself, all the lights fade away and you become a fleeting moment in life.
Pete Maravich

When I was losing, they called me nuts. When I was winning they called me eccentric.
Al McGuire

Help one kid at a time. He’ll maybe go back and help a few more.
Al McGuire

I don’t discuss basketball. I dictate basketball. I’m not interested in philosophy classes.
Al McGuire

To win, you’ve got to put the ball in the macramé.
Terry McGuire

The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.
Bill Russell

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


What to do with a mistake – recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.
Dean Smith

Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.
Dean Smith

The Best Basketball Quotes

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.
Jim Valvano

Other people go to an office. I get to coach. I know I’ve been blessed.
Jim Valvano

Confidence is a lot of this game or any game. If you don’t think you can, you won’t.
Jerry West

When it’s played the way is supposed to be played, basketball happens in the air; flying, floating, elevated above the floor, levitating the way oppressed peoples of this earth imagine themselves in their dreams.
John Edgar Wideman

You can run a lot of plays when your X is twice as big as the other guys’ O. It makes your X’s and O’s pretty good.
Paul Westphal