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
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
Basketball is a pretty simple game. What wins is consistency and competitiveness. — Gregg Popovich
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
Basketball doesn't build character it reveals it. — James Naismith
My dad would tell me to, 'Play for those who couldn't play.' So my motivation is for people who struggle in life daily. — Misty May-Treanor
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
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
A champion needs a motivation above and beyond winning. — Pat Riley
Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat. — Dean Smith
Motivation is when your dreams put on work clothes. — Benjamin Franklin
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'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
Short Basketball Motivation Quotes
Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball. — Phil Jackson
Practice like it's competition and compete like it's another day on the practice court. — Karch Kiraly
Blending the talents of your team members is crucial to basketball success. — John Kundla
Motivation will almost always beat mere talent. — Norman Ralph Augustine
On the court, I'm not afraid of anything. I try to have confidence and have a belief in myself. — Stephen Curry
Basketball Motivation Image Quotes
Wrestling... what men do during boys basketball season. — Dan Gable
If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit.Never quit!!! — Michael Jordan
You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.
Good Basketball Motivation Quotes
Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there. — Stevie Wonder
A good coach will make his players see what they can be rather than what they are. — Ara Parseghian
I do a little sign on the court every time i make a shot or a good pass and i pound my chest and point to the sky - it symbolizes that i have a heart for God. It’s something that my mom and I came up with in college and I do it every time I step on the floor as a reminder of who i’m playing for. — Stephen Curry
Be not afraid of going slowly, Be afraid of standing still.
I've never been afraid of big moments. I get butterflies.. I get nervous and anxious, but I think those are all good signs that I'm ready for the moment. — Stephen Curry
Criticize on defense and encourage on offense. — John Brady
Teams that play together beat those with superior players who play more as individuals. — Jack Ramsay
Never discourage anyone who continually makes progress, no mater how slow.
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
Fans never fall asleep at our games, because they're afraid they might get hit by a pass. — George Raveling
When you watch the game, be a student of the game. — Don Meyer
Be more concerned with your character than your reputation. — John Wooden
Basketball Team Motivation Quotes
The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot. — Bill Russell
I continually stress to my players that all I expect from them at practice and in the games is their maximum effort. — John Wooden
Winning is about having the whole team on the same page. — Bill Walton
There comes a point in your life when you need to stop reading other people's book and write your own.
The glory of sport is witnessing a well-coached team perform as a single unit, striving for a common goal and ultimately bringing distinction to the jersey the players represent. — Dick Vitale
The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other and they sacrifice personal glory for a common goal. — Dave DeBusschere
A person really doesn't become whole, until he becomes a part of something that's bigger than himself. — Jim Valvano
Getting knocked down in life is a given. Getting up and moving forward is a choice.
Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer. — Rick Pitino
College coaches measure success in championships. High School coaches measure success to titles. Youth coaches measure success in smiles. — Paul McAllister
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
Prepare for every game like you just lost your last game. — Lon Kruger
Motivation To Win Quotes
In life, it's not the genetic guy who wins or the guy with the most potential who wins; it's the person with the greatest perseverance who wins. Always be willing to get up and go at it again and again. That's the guy who has his hands raised later in life. That's the guy you guys need to be. — Greg Plitt
You have to believe in yourself when no one else does. — Serena Williams
Victory is in having done your best. If you've done your best, you've won. — Bill Bowerman
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.
Passion is a huge prerequisite to winning. It makes you willing to jump through hoops, go through all the ups and downs and everything in between to reach your goal. — Kerri Walsh
Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. — Wilma Rudolph
Winning as a team is better than anything. It's great to share success. — Jim Harbaugh
It Is Very Easy To Defeat Someone, But It Is Very Hard To Win Someone — Abdul Kalam
You may learn much more from a game you lose than from a game you win. You will have to lose hundreds of games before becoming a good player. — Jose Raul Capablanca
If you want to win, do the ordinary things better than anyone else does them day in and day out. — Chuck Noll
When building a team, I always search first for people who love to win. If I can't find any of those, I look for people who hate to lose. — Ross Perot
Football Motivation Quotes
There is no pressure when you are making a dream come true. — Neymar
Remind your critics when they say you don't have the expertise or experience to do something that an amateur built the ark and the experts built the Titanic — Peyton Manning
Some succeed because they are destined to, but most succeed because they are determined to. — Henry Van Dyke
It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.
Football linemen are motivated by a more complicated, self-determining series of factors than the simple fear of humiliation in the public gaze, which is the emotion that galvanizes the backs and receivers. — Merlin Olsen
It's not the will to win that matters-everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters. — Bear Bryant
If my mother put on a helmet and shoulder pads and a uniform that wasn't the same as the one I was wearing, I'd run over her if she was in my way. And I love my mother. — Bo Jackson
A little progress each day adds up to bg results.
Every kid around the world who plays soccer wants to be Pele. I have a great responsibility to show them not just how to be like a soccer player, but how to be like a man. — Pele
The secret is to work less as individuals and more as a team. As a coach, I play not my eleven best, but my best eleven. — Knute Rockne
My only feeling about superstition is that it's unlucky to be behind at the end of the game. — Duffy Daugherty
Money is not a motivating factor. Money doesn't thrill me or make me play better because there are benefits to being wealthy. I'm just happy with a ball at my feet. My motivation comes from playing the game I love. If I wasn't paid to be a professional footballer I would willingly play for nothing. — Lionel Messi
Soccer Motivation Quotes
My game is based on improvisation. Often a forward does not have the time to think too much. You have a second, rarely more, to decide whether to dribble, shoot or pass to the right or left. It is instinct that gives the orders. — Ronaldinho
Every time I went away I was deceiving my mum. I'd tell her I was going to school but I'd be out on the street playing football. I always had a ball on my feet. — Ronaldo
Pele called me the greatest footballer in the world. That is the ultimate salute to my life. — George Best
The hardest walk is walking alone, but it's also the walk that makes you the strongest.
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
More than my dream it was my family’s dream that I play for India and they always supported me. — Smriti Mandhana
I’m in the team to score goals. I try and score as many as I can in the season to help the team out. — Harry Kane
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass away.
I promise that we are going to win the league again. — John W. Henry
I’ve always been working hard on my speed for the last few years. Obviously I’m not slow, but as a striker, the more speed you have, the better you are. — Harry Kane
When I think of how special Anfield is and how special Liverpool is, everywhere around the world everyone is talking about Liverpool, it is because of the fan base. — John W. Henry
I’m just living in the moment, trying to win every game. That’s all I’m focused on. — Kawhi Leonard
Encouraging Basketball Quotes
What to do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it. — Dean Smith
A lot of guys go through their whole careers and don't win a championship, but are still great coaches. — Chuck Daly
Basketball is a game that gives you every chance to be great, and puts every pressure on you to prove that you haven't got what it takes. It never takes away the chance, and it never eases up on the pressure. — Bob Sundvold
Champions never complain, they are too busy getting better — John Wooden
It is not the critic who counts...The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. — Theodore Roosevelt
It's not how big you are, it's how big you play. — John Wooden
When you want to encourage a greater sense of responsibility in others (and yourself) emphasize the anticipation of accomplishment, not the penalties for failure. — Roger Crawford
But at the same time, my parents always encouraged my brother and me to be happy with what we were doing. My parents were athletes in high school; my mom and my dad were the stars of the basketball team, but they never pushed my brother and me to be anything we didn't want to be. — Jonathan Groff
Everyone wants to win, but not everyone is willing to prepare to win. — Bobby Knight
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
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
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
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
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
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 Team Quotes
Mental Toughness is doing the right thing for the team when it's not the best thing for you. — Bill Belichick
Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We. — Phil Jackson
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
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
I can't make every decision for you. I don't have 14 timeouts. You guys got to get together and talk — Gregg Popovich
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
Somewhere behind the athlete you've become and the hours of practice and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back... play for her. — Mia Hamm
The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team. — Phil Jackson
God made me fast. And when I run, I feel His pleasure. — Eric Liddell
When I'd get tired and want to stop, I'd wonder what my next opponent was doing. I'd wonder if he was still working out. I'd tried to visualize him. When I could see him working, I'd start pushing myself. When I could see him in the shower, I'd push myself harder. — Dan Gable
The team with the best athletes doesn't usually win. It's the team with the athletes who play best together. — Lisa Fernandez
Talent is never enough. With few exceptions the best players are the hardest workers. — Magic Johnson
When you fall, get right back up. Just keep going, keep pushing it. — Lindsey Vonn
Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. — Ross Perot
You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation. — Homer Rice
Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It's dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great. — Billie Jean King
Basketball Training Quotes
If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it. — Michael Jordan
There are only two options regarding commitment; you’re either in or you’re out. — Pat Riley
Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise — Michael Jordan
Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody. — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it. — Michael Jordan
I only weigh 220, so I have to do something to keep from being tossed around by all the guys who weigh 250 and more. I train hard, but I don't try to get too big. — Dennis Rodman
Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic, be enthusiastic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Wisdom is always an overmatch for strength. — Phil Jackson
The invention of basketball was not an accident. It was developed to meet a need. — James Naismith
I do believe that one way to bring cultures together, to develop trust between people and countries and religions, is through education. And through music and art and basketball and activities and joys that people share worldwide, regardless of ethnic background or religious orientation. — Steve Kerr
Hard work is not punishment. Hard work is the price of admission for the opportunity to reach sustained excellence — Jay Bilas
They said you have to use your five best players but I found you win with the five who fit together the best. — Red Auerbach
Champions play as they practice. Create a consistency of excellence in all your habits. — Mike Krzyzewski
I can play basketball, run track, and play volleyball, so yeah, I’ve always been an athlete at heart. — Vivica Fox
The big time is not a place; it's the state of your heart. It's not something you get; it's something you become. — Frosty Westering
Don't let what other people think decide who you are. — Dennis Rodman
I learned at a young age to dribble with both hands, and that allows me to be more creative when I go against bigger and stronger opponents. — Steve Nash
You don't have to live anybody else's story. — Stephen Curry
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
Never underestimate the heart of a champion. — Rudy Tomjanovich
First master the fundamentals. — Larry Bird
When I was young and I could dream a bit, I could see myself participating in the slam dunk contest. I’ve always wanted to experience that. — Giannis Antetokounmpo
Champions are made from something they have deep inside of them-a desire, a dream, a vison. — Mahatma Gandhi
Heart in champions has to do with the depth of our motivation and how well your mind and body react to pressure - that is, being able to do what you do best under maximum pain and stress. — Bill Russell
In Conclusion
Which quotation resonated with you best? Did you enjoy our collection of basketball motivation quotes? Or may be you have a slogan about basketball motivation to suggest. Let us know using our contact form.
Citation
Feel free to cite and use any of the quotes in this collection of basketball motivation quotations. For popular citation styles(APA, Chicago, MLA), please use this citation page.
