235+ GREATEST Inspirational Basketball Quotes

Basketball has become one of the most popular sports in the world since its invention in 1891 by a Canadian American physical educator named James Naismith.

Like the game of life, having the right motivation plays a key role to keep improving your basketball skills.

When you are trying to improve yourself and reach the next level, it can be helpful to have the best inspiring basketball quotes at hand.

If you’re searching for famous sports quotes and inspiring softball quotes that perfectly capture what you’d like to say or just want to feel inspired yourself, browse through an amazing collection of top volleyball quotes, greatest field hockey quotes and popular tennis quotes.

Most Inspirational Basketball Quotes Ever

These inspiring basketball quotes help you strive harder and do whatever it takes to reach their goals. Your favorite coaches and professional players will inspire you to keep pushing your limits with hard work.

The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play ‘Drop the Handkerchief.’ James Naismith

I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan

I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. Michael Jordan

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard. Kevin Durant

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

Shooting percentage is just as much about decision making as it is about technique. Jeff Van Gundy

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

basketball quotes

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

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

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

Young men need more models, not critics. John Wooden

If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren’t able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment. John Wooden

There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either. Michael Jordan

Even when I’m old and grey, I won’t be able to play it, but I’ll still love the game. Michael Jordan

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

basketball quotes inspirational

There’s a great quote by Julius Irving that went, ‘Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don’t feel like doing them.’ David Halberstam

Nothing is given. Everything is earned. LeBron James

What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. Dean Smith

Everything negative, pressure, challenges are all an opportunity for me to rise. Kobe Bryant

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

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

Winners are not people who do not fail, but people who never quit.

Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

basketball quotes about life

Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. The conceit is self-given. Be careful. John Wooden

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

I think someone should explain to the child that it’s ok to make mistakes. That’s how we learn. When we compete, we make mistakes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. Jim Valvano

I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win. Michael Jordan

I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus. Michael Jordan

Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory. Bill Russell

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. Michael Jordan

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

short basketball quotes

Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God’s way of saying nobody’s perfect. Shaquille O’Neal

My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength. Michael Jordan

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are. John Wooden

Watching Nash from his early years in Dallas to his prime in Phoenix, it was unbelievable to see a man who many thought would never last in the National Basketball Association, prove all of his doubters wrong. Clayton Geoffreys

When a gifted team dedicates itself to unselfish trust and combines instinct with boldness and effort–it is ready to climb. Pat Riley

Practice habits were crucial to my development in basketball. I didn’t play against the toughest competition in high school, but one reason I was able to do well in college was that I mastered the fundamentals. You’ve got to have them down before you can even think about playing. Larry Bird

Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team. Scottie Pippen

Something just doesn’t pop under your nose; you have to work for it. LeBron James

inspirational basketball quotes

How good can we expect to be if our best player is not our best teammate? Brad Stevens

Once you are labeled the best you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around. If I don’t keep changing, I’m history. Larry Bird

Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute. Bill Russell

Basketball isn’t a game; It’s an art form. You master the fundamentals so you can forget ’em, so you can improvise and just concentrate on what really matters: getting buckets. Kyrie Irving

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

In basketball, distributing shots among teammates is like dispersing cars across different roadways. Ben Taylor

Motivational Basketball Quotes For Players & Coaches

Improving basketball skills require a lot of exercise and dedication. Encouraging basketball quotes will motivate you to train harder and to never give up on your dreams. No matter how painful it gets, basketball encouragement quotes will help you to always keep going.

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes a character to keep you there. John Wooden

Leadership is diving for a loose ball. It’s about being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you are going to get respect from other players. Larry Bird

Success is not an accident, success is actually a choice. Stephen Curry

Everyone is born with a certain potential. You may never achieve your full potential, but how close you come depends on how much you want to pay the price. Red Auerbach

You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them. Michael Jordan

What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player. John Wooden

basketball motivational quotes

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 Meyer

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

I think that my God-given physical 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 just want to keep working hard, stay humble, and keep trying to win games. Damian Lillard

Nervous means you want to play. Scared means you don’t want to play. Sherman Alexie

Winning teams at the NBA level, the college level, and the high school level all play. Championship teams have five players on the same page at all times. Hubie Brown

There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does. Dean Smith

Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered. Bill Russell

Once you are labeled the best you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around. If I don’t keep changing, I’m history. Larry Bird

All at once, I couldn’t figure out why I was methodically tossing a spherical object through a toroidal object. It seemed like the stupidest thing I could possibly be doing. John Green

I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. Michael Jordan

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

basketball motivational dream quotes

To inspire the players, I adapted a quote from Walt Whitman and taped it on their lockers before the first game of the playoffs, against the Miami Heat. ‘Henceforth we seek not good fortune, we are ourselves good fortune’. Phil Jackson

Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you’ve got him. Bill Russell

We learn to make a shell for ourselves when we are young and then spend the rest of our lives hoping for someone to reach inside and touch us. Just touch us—anything more than that would be too much for us to bear. Bill Russell

If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit. Never quit! Michael Jordan

Everyone has the fire, but the champions know when to ignite the spark. Amit Ray

The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. Phil Jackson

When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away from the game. Michael Jordan

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. Michael Jordan

I really get motivated when I have doubters. Shaquille O’Neal

I’ve learned what it feels like to lose, believe me. But I think, in the end, that is just going to make winning that much better. Kevin Durant

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

You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good. Jerry West

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. Michael Jordan

Research has shown that people who meditate and think about every aspect of the game in their heads are better prepared for the game environment when the moment of truth arrives. Jame Wilson

basketball sayings

Teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one. Mike Krzyzewski

Put great thought to what and how you practice. Once practice is done you can never get that time back. Did you simulate the game? Kevin Eastman

The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important. Bob Knight

Always turn a negative situation into a positive situation. Michael Jordan

Please be aware that if you volunteer to coach youth basketball, you’re taking on a very important role. How you approach the season and how you interact with the kids will affect how they feel about themselves, the sport of basketball, and you. Greg Bach

I think the reason why I’m the person who I am today is that I went through those tough times when I was younger. LeBron James

There’s only one thing we can control, and that is how hard we play. Don Meyer

I am more than just a Serious basketball fan. I am a life-long Addict. I was addicted from birth, in fact, because I was born in Kentucky. Hunter S. Thompson

I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end. Larry Bird

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

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

When you think you have done enough, do a little more, because someone out there is working harder than you. Larry Bird

The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace. Michael Jordan

deep basketball quotes

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 Kidd

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

When you’re not practicing, someone else is getting better. Allen Iverson

Hall of Fame player and coach John Wooden stated that all players must learn to execute the fundamental skills properly and quickly in order to be successful. Don Meyer

To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate. Michael Jordan

The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. Those boys simply would not play “Drop the Handkerchief.” James Naismith

We believe in people executing their role and caring about the team more than anything individually. Gregg Popovich

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

You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good. Jerry West

Also, workout quotes will give you the extra boost of motivation to reach your goals.

Best Basketball Quotes About Passion & Life

Deep basketball quotes provide keen insights and help you look at basketball, and even life, in a new way.

Discover your gift, develop your gift, and then give it away every day. Don Meyer

I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus. Michael Jordan

A key basketball skill is imagery. The best players “see” situations before they happen so they can be prepared. Dr. Jack Ramsay

We’re building a culture of accountability, trust, and togetherness. Entitlement will not be tolerated. Brad Stevens

best basketball quotes

It takes three things to be a ‘special’ player: talent, character, and competitive fire. Kevin Eastman

A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment. John Wooden

But that’s the thing about basketball: you don’t play games on paper. Bill Simmons

It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit. John Wooden

As the game has evolved, the demands upon players have evolved, and practices must evolve to meet these changing demands. Brian McCormick

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

Instead, he (Michael Jordan) re-directed all of his energies to sports, playing basketball and baseball with the same drive and determination as his siblings and parents had with their work. Charlton Best

The one thing I learned about myself going back and watching tapes of all the losses that we’ve had is that I’m physically capable of doing this and dominating the game, but the mental part was not there. I don’t know if it comes with age, but I had to learn to be mentally tough. Lisa Leslie

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 Kidd

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 them. Bob Knight

Don’t mistake activity with achievement. John Wooden

There’s no such thing as coulda, shoulda, or woulda. If you shoulda and coulda, you woulda done it. Pat Riley

Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work. Michael Jordan

top basketball quotes

Most of us spend the bulk of our time caught up in thoughts of the past or the future which can be dangerous if your job is winning basketball games. Basketball takes place at such a lightning pace that it’s easy to make mistakes and get obsessed with what just happened or what might happen next, which distracts you from the only thing that really matters this very moment. Phil Jackson

The key to success is the failure. Michael Jordan

I’m chasing perfection. Kobe Bryant

You have no choices about how you lose, but you do have a choice about how you come back and prepare to win again. Pat Riley

No matter how hard you work at your craft and no matter how successful you become, people just have to find something negative to hang on you. […] 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

I don’t know if I practiced more than anybody, but I sure practiced enough. I still wonder if somebody somewhere was practicing more than me. Larry Bird

Be led by your dreams not by your problems. Roy Williams

Approach the game with no preset agendas and you’ll probably come away surprised at your overall efforts. Phil Jackson

Sometimes your best effort just isn’t good enough. LeBron James

You need to be more careful, or you could hurt yourself.”
Right. Thank you, Mrs. Detweiler. I never would have come to that conclusion by myself. I was planning on incorporating a backflip into my next walk across the classroom but on second thought… Janette Rallison

I’ve never lost a game I just ran out of time. Michael Jordan

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

amazing basketball quotes

Michael Jordan is the greatest player ever because he has the best individual contributions to the team’s success in the regular season and postseason to go along with winning 6 NBA Championships. Johnny Osaki

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

If every basketball player worked as hard as I did, I’d be out of a job. Steve Nash

You don’t need great skill to be a tough rebounder; being a rebounder is all about effort, determination, and physicality. Mike Malone

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

Talent does all of the hard work on the court, but a player’s character and demeanor on and off of it are what defines his future as a superstar. Clayton Geoffreys

The basketball court for 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

The goal is to make practice more difficult, physically/mentally, than anything your players will face during a game. Bob Knight

Awesome Basketball Quotes

Positive basketball quotes will take you forward in the game of life and sports.

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

Love never fails; Character never quits, and with patience and persistence; dreams do come true. Pete Maravich

Your best player has to set a tone of intolerance for anything that gets in the way of winning. Jeff Van Gundy

As a leader, your job is to do everything in your power to create the perfect conditions for success by benching your ego and inspiring your team to play the game the right way. But at some point, you need to let go and turn yourself over to the basketball gods. The soul of success is surrendering to what is. Phil Jackson

If you’re not talking, you’re not playing defense. Doc Rivers

awesome basketball quotes

Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. John Wooden

I look at my jersey and see the NBA logo, I’m like, ‘I didn’t think I’d be here.’ Kevin Durant

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

The day I stopped worrying about stats is the day I started winning. Shaquille O’Neal

There is no I in a team but there is in a win. Michael Jordan

The important thing is that your teammates have to know you’re pulling for them and you really want them to be successful. Kobe Bryant

Limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. Michael Jordan

The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good. Ann Landers

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

I’ve always been impressed by Kobe’s resilience and ironclad self-confidence. Unlike Shaq, who was often plagued by self-doubt, Kobe never let such thoughts cross his mind. If someone set the bar at ten feet, he’d jump eleven, even if no one had ever done it before. That’s the attitude he brought with him when he arrived at training camp that fall, and it had a powerful impact on his teammates. Phil Jackson

It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen. John Wooden

If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life. Michael Jordan

People just don’t understand how obsessed I am with winning. Kobe Bryant

I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus. Michael Jordan

motivating basketball quotes

That’s why at the start of every season I always encouraged players to focus on the journey rather than the goal. What matters most is playing the game the right way and having the courage to grow, as human beings as well as basketball players. When you do that, the ring takes care of itself. Phil Jackson

Coaches shouldn’t have to push you to work hard, you should push yourself to work hard because you want to be a great player. Bob Knight

I always wanted to be a basketball player. Nothing more, nothing less. Dirk Nowitzki

You can’t win unless you learn how to lose. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

My goal is to win the next game one possession at a time. That’s it. I don’t have any other goals. Brad Stevens

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

Goals determine what you’re going to be. Julius Erving

Once I made a decision, I never thought about it again. Michael Jordan

If you’re trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I’ve had them; everybody has had them. But 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. You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them. Michael Jordan

The first time I managed to pick up a basketball I knew I was destined to lead the UK to another National championship. … Even now, so many years later, I still believe Kentucky will go undefeated in March & win everything. Hunter S. Thompson

Everything is habit forming, so make sure what you do is what you want to be doing. Wilt Chamberlain

Failure is acceptable. but not trying is a whole different ballpark. Michael Jordan

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 Kidd

I love seeing my teammates succeed. That’s what I get more excited about than anything. LeBron James

It’s OK to make mistakes. That’s how we learn. When we compete, we make mistakes. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

basketball quotes about discipline

Failure is good. It’s fertilizer. Everything I’ve learned about coaching I’ve learned from making mistakes. Rick Pitino

There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either. Everyone plays in different eras. I built my talents on the shoulders of someone else’s talent. I believe greatness is an evolutionary process that changes and evolves era to era. Michael Jordan

We old athletes carry the disfigurements and markings of contests remembered only by us and no one else. Nothing is more lost than a forgotten game. Pat Conroy

I have a plan of action, but the game is a game of adjustments. Mike Krzyzewski

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 made my teammates play. Bill Russell

Playing basketball calls for every part of your body, and every ability to move possessed by the human body. Dre Baldwin

What is love? Love is playing every game as if it’s your last! Michael Jordan

I think I started learning lessons about being a good person long before I ever knew what basketball was. And that starts in the home, it starts with the parental influence. Julius Erving

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

One of the things in the back of my mind is that, after my sports experience, I never want to be, totally consumed by anyone endeavor, other than my family life. Julius Erving

basketball quotes about never give up

I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. No matter what the injury unless it’s completely debilitating I’m going to be the same player I’ve always been. I’ll figure it out. I’ll make some tweaks, some changes, but I’m still coming. Kobe Bryant

It was the loss of the varsity spot that caused things to turn around as Jordan took the bad news and made it his motivation to improve for next year and work harder on his basketball skills with the goal to make the varsity team. Clayton Geoffreys

Preparation is critical, but sometimes in such moments, the best thing you can do has nothing to do with what’s happening on the court but what is going on inside the players’ heads. Jay Triano

There is a direct correlation between the number of ball reversals and defensive breakdowns. Kevin Eastman

Never make excuses. Your friends don’t need them and your foes won’t believe them. John Wooden

To learn to succeed, you must first learn to fail. Michael Jordan

I’ve tried to handle winning well so that maybe we’ll win again, but I’ve also tried to handle failure well. If those serve as good examples for teachers and kids, then I hope that would be a contribution I have made to the sport. Mike Krzyzewski

Acknowledge the difficult spot you’re in and commence digging out of it. Don’t point fingers, don’t recriminate, and don’t make excuses. Stay positive and get to work. Rick Pitino

If it turns out that my best wasn’t good enough, at least I won’t look back and say that I was afraid to try. Michael Jordan

Famous Basketball Quotes On Self-Motivation and Teamwork

Amazing basketball quotes will boost your own and your teammates’ motivation by reminding you of the importance of hard work and collaborative effort.

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

Bottom line, you’re either a risk taker, or your not, and if you don’t take risks, you’ll never win big. Geno Auriemma

If you’re going to have to beg them to play, it’s not going to work. Chuck Daly

I can’t stand a ballplayer who plays in fear. Any fellow who has a good shot has got to take it and keep taking it. So he misses – so what? Red Auerbach

I think, team first. It allows me to succeed, it allows my team to succeed. Lebron James

It’s not about getting out of your comfort zone to reach your goal. It’s about widening your comfort zone so far that your goal fits comfortably inside. Once you do that, hitting your goals will be like hitting 3s for Steph Curry. Richie Norton

Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise. Michael Jordan

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’m still waiting for perfection. In the meantime, I’ll settle for persistence. Bo Ryan

We old athletes carry the disfigurements and markings of contests remembered only by us and no one else. Nothing is more lost than a forgotten game. Pat Conroy

When I walked into the gym, I fell in love with the game. I didn’t fall in love with it just because it was me playing. I fell in love with it because I’ve got guys like this – like these guys every single day that push me to be the best that I can be. Kevin Durant

There is a lot of pressure put on me, but I don’t put a lot of pressure on myself. I feel if I play my game, it will take care of itself. Lebron James

We’d taken up our positions on the benches between the school hall and a newly-installed outdoor basketball court. Being hip-hoppers, we were obliged to be obsessed with basketball. None of us had a ball. Nikesh Shukla

In developing teams, I don’t believe in rules. I believe in standards. Rules don’t promote teamwork, standards do. Mike Krzyzewski

Admit to and make yourself accountable for mistakes. How can you improve if you’re never wrong? Pat Summitt

Bad shooters are always open. Pete Carril

So in a six-minute stretch we see display fearlessness, tenacity, intelligence, savvy, a firm allegiance to team, assertiveness, toughness, and a willingness to obliterate a man in front of the woman that man’s supposed to marry. Jim Halpert [The Office] is a winner. Shea Serrano

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

Good coaches tell you where the fish are, great coaches teach you how to find them. Kobe Bryant

You see this circle? The size of this circle represents everything that I know about basketball. But the size of this ball represents everything about the game that has never been discovered. Pete Maravich

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

You can’t always be the most talented or gifted person in the room, but you can be the most competitive. Pat Summit

If you want to be a better player, you have to prepare, prepare, and prepare some more. Kobe Bryant

The greatness of Michael Jordan is his competitive drive. The weakness of Michael Jordan is his competitive drive. Phil Jackson

But I’d never, like, actually danced at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner. Rick Riordan

Also, teamwork quotes will inspire collaboration and greatness.