153 Basketball Life Quotes

Following is our list of basketball life quotations and slogans full of insightful wisdom and perspective about simple basketball.

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Famous Basketball Life Quotes

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

In basketball - as in life - true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way. — Phil Jackson

There's more to life than basketball. The most important thing is your family and taking care of each other and loving each other no matter what. — Stephen Curry

Basketball is one of those rare opportunities where you can make a difference, not only for yourself, but for other people as well. — Bill Walton

First off, I'd like to thank God for changing my life. It let me really realize what life is all about. Basketball is just a platform for me to inspire people, and I realize that. — Kevin Durant

In the game of basketball, I play first off because I love it. I love to have fun. I love to run up and down the court. — Kevin Durant

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

When I’m away from basketball, I hang out with my friends, chill, and that’s about it. — Kawhi Leonard

Basketball doesn't build character it reveals it. - James Naismith

Basketball doesn't build character it reveals it. — James Naismith

Basketball is a pretty simple game. What wins is consistency and competitiveness. — Gregg Popovich

Everybody in the NBA works on their game. I just tried to follow that lead when I was in high school, college – and now. — Kawhi Leonard

Obviously the thing that's cool about games - a basketball game is just a basketball game. — Jensen Huang

If Shakespeare can compare all of life to a stage, maybe it's not odd to believe that part of the play can take place on a basketball court. — Bill Russell

I'll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it's sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot. — Kobe Bryant

You've got to stay humble and hungry. Just keep working and thank God you have a chance to play in the NBA. — John Wall

Short Basketball Life Quotes

  • The Boston Celtics are not a basketball team, they are a way of life. — Red Auerbach
  • What we play is life. — Louis Armstrong
  • Sports is human life in microcosm. — Howard Cosell
  • Basketball really had its origin in Indiana, which remains the center of the sport. — James Naismith
  • Baseball is more than a game. It's like life played out on a field. — Juliana Hatfield

Basketball Life Image Quotes

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

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

Basketball life quote For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're
For what it's worth: it's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of, and, if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over.

Life Is Like A Basketball Quotes

Like life, basketball is messy and unpredictable. It has its way with you, no matter how hard you try to control it. The trick is to experience each moment with a clear mind and open heart. When you do that, the game - and life - will take care of itself. — Phil Jackson

My personal life is the same. At the end of the day, this is just a job. I love what I do, and it's a great job. But it's like my alter ego. There's Chris Brown the singer. And there's Christopher Brown, the down-home Tappahannock boy that plays video games and basketball and hangs out. — Chris Brown

To be strategic in life is like any skill whether it's basketball or learning a language, it takes effort and practice and I think most people don't think that it's something that they could just do, you know, naturally. — Robert Greene

Basketball life quote Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.
Never be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence.

Sometimes I feel like the Tom Hanks character in Big. But my life is not a movie. I never have to go back to Coney Island to find the fortune-teller machine so I have to grow up again. — Shaquille O'Neal

Simple Basketball Quotes

Success is a matter of understanding and religiously practicing specific, simple habits that always lead to success. — Robert Ringer

Part of the charm of basketball lies in the fact that it's a simple game to understand. Players race up and down a fairly small area indoors and stuff the ball into a ring with Madonna's dress hanging on it. — Dan Jenkins

Keep it simple, when you get too complex you forget the obvious. — Al McGuire

Basketball life quote There comes a point in your life when you need to stop reading other people's book and write your ow
There comes a point in your life when you need to stop reading other people's book and write your own.

Joy comes from places you least expect it. Its usually the simple things, like watching my son play basketball or going through Central Park when the blossoms are blooming. — Dave Gahan

An acrobatic dunk will make it onto Sports Center. A simple, unspectacular bounce pass in the rhythm of the offense will not. System basketball has been replaced by players who want to be the system. — Phil Jackson

Basketball is a simple game. Your goal is penetration, get the ball close to the basket, and there are three ways to do that. Pass, dribble and offensive rebound. — Phil Jackson

Basketball life quote Some days I wish I could go back in life. Not to change anything, but to feel a few things twice.
Some days I wish I could go back in life. Not to change anything, but to feel a few things twice.

Basketball is a business. Pure and simple. If you want to have fun, go to the YMCA. — Pat Riley

My motto is very simple. Win a Ring for the King. — Shaquille O'Neal

Players must be able to carry out simple instructions from the bench to the court. If they can't, then they can't play — Bobby Knight

My life is very simple. I like simplicity and for my time to be my own, so that I have the freedom to devote the majority of it to Islam. — Hakeem Olajuwon

What Are Good Basketball Quotes

A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are. — Ara Parseghian

Everyone is gonna have a bad day, everyone is gonna have a bad game. The questions are: How do you recover? What builds your character? I decided one day early on in high school that I wanted to be great at basketball, not just a good basketball player. — Gilbert Arenas

You know what I always say about basketball whenever anybody tried to tell me the Knicks are gonna be good: They're old. Old people don't get healthy. They die. — Sayings

Basketball life quote Getting knocked down in life is a given. Getting up and moving forward is a choice.
Getting knocked down in life is a given. Getting up and moving forward is a choice.

When you think about what the odds are to have four boys to not only be able to follow in the footsteps in a basketball career but to also be good in the secondary career as far as the broadcasting, it's pretty remarkable. — Rick Barry

Basketball Is Life Quotes

Everything happens for a reason, and everything has a story, and if you take time to realise what your dream is and what you really want in life... whether it's sports, whether it's in other fields, you have to realise that there's always work to do. — Stephen Curry

We should do three things every day of our life. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is to think, we should spend some time in thought. And, number three is you should have your emotions moved to tears. — Jim Valvano

Doesn't matter where you come from, what you have or don't have... All you need to have is faith in God, an undying passion for what you do and what you choose to do in this life, and a relentless drive and the will to do whatever it takes to be successful in whatever you put your mind to. — Stephen Curry

Basketball life quote The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measur
The secret to living well and longer is: eat half, walk double, laugh triple and love without measure.

In life, winning and losing will both happen. What is never acceptable is quitting. — Magic Johnson

Pressure is something you feel when you do not know what you are doing. - Chuck Noll

Pressure is something you feel when you do not know what you are doing. — Chuck Noll

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

Basketball life quote Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip
Sometimes the smallest step in the right direction ends up being the biggest step of your life. Tip top if you must, but take the step.

I believe that the measure of a person's life is the affect they have on others. — Steve Nash

A leader's job is to develop committed followers. Bad leaders destroy their followers' sense of commitment. — Dean Smith

I always say to my guys, 'The most important day of your life is today. This very minute is the most important of you life. You must win this minute. You must win this day. And tomorrow will take care of itself. — John Chaney

Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success. — Pablo Picasso

Basketball Is My Life Quotes

It is not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. — Theodore Roosevelt

I always mean what I say, but I don't always say what I'm thinking. — Dean Smith

Basketball is just something else to do, another facet of life. I'm going to be a success at whatever I choose because of my preparation. By the time the game starts, the outcome has been decided. I never think about having a bad game because I have prepared. — David Robinson

Basketball life quote Don't wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to enjoy your life.
Don't wait for everything to be perfect before you decide to enjoy your life.

I understand basketball is not my entire life. It's only a part of my life. And there are a lot of other things that interest me a great deal ... other goals to seek, and this is how I have balance in life. — Yao Ming

People that don't know me think that basketball is my life 24/7. Trust me, there is much more to my life. My number one priority in my life is my family. — Dick Vitale

Heart is what separates the good from the great. — Michael Jordan

Basketball life quote Don't compare your life to others. There's no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine wh
Don't compare your life to others. There's no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it's their time.

I've failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed. Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying. — Michael Jordan

My mom is one of 14 children. She's a great lady. She's a Taurus. Has been a profound influence in my life, still is to this day. Born in meager surroundings in rural South Carolina. — Julius Erving

I don't need too much. Glamour and all that stuff don't excite me. I am just glad I have the game of basketball in my life. — LeBron James

The only way you're going to get through life, happily, is being yourself. — Nikki Blonsky

Basketball Success Quotes

You can't measure success if you have never failed. My father has taught me that if you really do want to reach your goals, you can't spend any time worrying about whether you're going to win or lose. Focus only on getting better. — Steffi Graf

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

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

What I tell people is be the best version of yourself in anything that you do. You don't have to live anybody else's story. — Stephen Curry

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. - Stevie Wonder

Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. — Stevie Wonder

Success comes after you conquer your biggest obstacles and hurdles. - Stephen Curry

Success comes after you conquer your biggest obstacles and hurdles. — Stephen Curry

Every time I rise up, I have confidence that I'm going to make it. — Stephen Curry

Basketball life quote Life is like a piano, the white keys represent happiness and the black shows sadness, but as you go
Life is like a piano, the white keys represent happiness and the black shows sadness, but as you go through life's journey, remember that the black keys also makes music.

Champions aren't made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them-a desire, a dream, a vision. — Muhammad Ali

I'm not the guy who's afraid of failure. I like to take risks, take the big shot and all that. — Stephen Curry

A successful person realizes his personal responsibility for self-motivation. He starts with himself because he possesses the key to his own ignition switch. — Kemmons Wilson

The stats win nothing. I'm still sexy. I'm still great. — Shaquille O'Neal

Basketball Quotes

Mental Toughness is doing the right thing for the team when it's not the best thing for you. — Bill Belichick

None of us can change our yesterdays but all of us can change our tomorrows. - Colin Powell

None of us can change our yesterdays but all of us can change our tomorrows. — Colin Powell

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

Basketball life quote Failure are part of life. If you don't fail, you don't learn. If you don't learn you'll never change
Failure are part of life. If you don't fail, you don't learn. If you don't learn you'll never change.

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

Whatever pressure I feel all comes from me, from within. I always was that person who was hard on myself and challenged myself no matter what I was doing, whether it was passing third grade or playing basketball. — Kendrick Lamar

There's a misconception about teamwork. Teamwork is the ability to have different thoughts about things; it's the ability to argue and stand up and say loud and strong what you feel. But in the end, it's also the ability to adjust to what is the best for the team. — Tom Landry

The only thing even in this world is the number of hours in a day. The difference in winning or losing is what you do with those hours. — Woody Hayes

Coaching is making men do what they don't want, so they can become what they want to be — Tom Landry

The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I’d made my teammates play. — Bill Russell

Wrestling... what men do during boys basketball season. - Dan Gable

Wrestling... what men do during boys basketball season. — Dan Gable

I Love Basketball Quotes

I love playing basketball because you could be having a rough 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 and I have fun. — Derrick Rose

If the NBA were on channel 5 and a bunch of frogs making love were on channel 4, I'd watch the frogs, even if they were coming in fuzzy. — Bobby Knight

I'm not playing for other people; if I start thinking in those terms I would put too much pressure on myself. I play basketball because that is what I love to do. — Jeremy Lin

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

I love the game of basketball, and as long as I can do that, keep playing and try to get some more championships with the organization, I’ll be happy. — Kawhi Leonard

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

I love basketball so much, I love playing it. I just never thought I could make it to college, make it to the NBA or stand up here today in front of you guys and be an NBA MVP. It’s just a surreal feeling, and I had so much help, so many people believe in me when I didn’t believe in myself. — Kevin Durant

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

It's unfair because the people booing, I believe, wouldn't want to have their child booed. Fans don't understand our lives and what we go through. They don't look at us as humans. We love the fans because they support and love the game, but at the same time it hurts when they turn their back on us. — Allen Iverson

I played basketball when I was little because it was fun for me. It still is now. I just love it. I have a passion for it. — Kawhi Leonard

Basketball Team Quotes

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

If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you. You haven't done much today. — Mikhail Gorbachev

It's not just about working hard, it's about working together. You have to care more about the team than you do about yourself — John Calipari

If you're struggling with your shooting, then do other things on the basketball court. Get steals, get assists, get rebounds-do anything on the court to help the team win. — Allen Iverson

I can't make every decision for you. I don't have 14 timeouts. You guys got to get together and talk — Gregg Popovich

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

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

A team divided against itself can break down at any moment. The least bit of pressure or adversity will crack it apart — Bill Parcells

A basketball team is like the five fingers on your hand. If you can get them all together, you have a fist. That's how I want you to play. — Mike Krzyzewski

The most important thing in coaching is communication. It's not what you say as much as what they absorb. — Red Auerbach

Awesome Basketball Quotes

Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength. — Phil Jackson

Meadowlark was the most sensational, awesome, incredible basketball player I've ever seen. — Wilt Chamberlain

That's the awesome part. Little girls now have a chance to look up and see women playing soccer, basketball, softball and now hockey - and know they can win a gold medal, too. — Angela Ruggiero

Being a professional is doing the things you love to do, on the days you don't feel like doing them. — Julius Erving

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 Carril

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

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

It's what you get from games you lose that is extremely important. — Pat Riley

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

Why don't they allow professional wrestling at the Olympics? They allow pro basketball players and hockey players. Olympic pro wrestling would be awesome. The team from Mexico could wear those Mr. X masks. The French wrestler could hit his opponent with a baguette. Or perhaps just surrender. — Craig Ferguson

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Read quotes by Kevin Durant

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Read quotes by Kawhi Leonard

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quotes on life, leadership and teamwork

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Read quotes by James Naismith

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Read quotes by Bill Walton

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More Basketball Life Quotes

In basketball - as in life - true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way. Of course, it's no accident that things are more likely to go your way when you stop worrying about whether you're going to win or lose and focus your full attention on what's happening right this moment. — Phil Jackson

The number one problem that keeps people from winning in the United States today is lack of belief in themselves. — Arthur L. Williams, Jr.

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

I am aware that most people only see me as Shaq... the guy on the court. But there is another side to who I am, Shaquille O'Neal. And Shaquille O'Neal wants to explore every part of life. He wants the opportunity to pursue all of his desires. That includes being a part of the music industry as an MC. Music is and will always be a part of who I am. — Shaquille O'Neal

I learned early that if I wanted to achieve anything in life, I'd have to do it myself. I learned that I had to be accountable. — Lenny Wilkens

For me, it always goes back to something I learned in basketball. There's winning and there's losing, and in life you have to know they both will happen. But what's never been acceptable to me is quitting. — Magic Johnson

It is one of the strange ironies of this strange life that those who work the hardest, who subject themselves to the strictest discipline, who give up certain pleasurable things in order to achieve a goal, are the happiest. — Brutus Hamilton

I've never felt my job was to win basketball games - rather, that the essence of my job as a coach was to do everything I could to give my players the background necessary to succeed in life. — Bobby Knight

I take my sport damned seriously. Basketball is my life. There are other people who go into important games as if they were any other game. I'm a brooder and I spend a lot of time thinking about my opponent, about the things he can do and about what I have to do to win. I don't think I'll ever be able to change that. — Dirk Nowitzki

Have a spiritual basis which guides you in life. Have a philosophy of life to live by. — Tom Osborne

Obama's the one who never worked a day in his life. He never earned a penny that wasn't public money. How many fund-raisers does he attend every week? How often does he play basketball and golf? I wish I had that kind of time. — Roger Ailes

Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. — John Wooden

We overload in our workouts so that the game slows down in real life. It helps you become a smarter basketball player. — Stephen Curry

There is a rare exception of mainstream sports that have a fatality rate. That's motor sports and rodeo, ... football, baseball, basketball, hockey, you make a mistake and you give up a run or some points. In these two sports, if you make a mistake, it could cost you your life. — Don Andrews

If you are not willing to work hard and establish discipline in your life, then all your dreams are merely pipe dreams. — Rick Pitino

Remember this, the choices you make in life, make you. — John Wooden

Baseball players quit playing and they take up golf. Basketball players quit, take up golf. Football players quit, take up golf. What are we supposed to take up when we quit? — George Archer

A good coach improves your game. A great coach improves your life. — Michael Josephson

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