"X & O's aren't worth a damn without a team. If your team isn't with you it doesn't matter what you draw up. The team must respect what the coach is asking them to do"
Read quote
37 likes
Basketball quotes
Basketball
3.4K quotes on this topic — from poets, philosophers, and thinkers across history.
Explore further
Topics related to Basketball
Browse quotes that often appear alongside basketball — connected by shared ideas and recurring themes.
Quote collection
Basketball quotes (page 6 of 170)
Follow a thought to its author, or read the full quote page.
"You should sub a player out when you see a player not going full-speed or playing selfish basketball."
Read quote
36 likes
"The difference between a good defensive team and a bad defensive team is as little as three possessions"
Read quote
36 likes
"I begged my mom for a beat machine, she spent a crazy amount of money - so there were no more Christmases, no more basketball camps, no more birthday gifts. I always knew that's what I wanted to do."
Read quote
36 likes
"The coach's job is to be part servant in helping each player reach his goals within the team concept."
Read quote
35 likes
"Give your dreams all you've got, and you'll be amazed at the energy that comes out of you."
Read quote
35 likes
"I realize now that there's a strength in dunking that I can use to my advantage. When you dunk all the time it isn't as demoralizing to the opponent, but when you dunk at a key moment in the game you can use it to change the momentum."
Read quote
35 likes
"The game honors toughness"
Read quote
33 likes
"They say that nobody is perfect. Then they tell you practice makes perfect. I wish they'd make up their minds."
Read quote
33 likes
"Every day when I get on the floor I give it my all and play because you never know what tomorrow holds."
Read quote
33 likes
"One player's selfish attitude can poison a locker room and make it hard, if not impossible, to establish team work"
Read quote
32 likes
"I want people to follow their dreams, yes but I'm not interested in telling young black kids how to be rappers I want to show them that there's so many other paths you can take, besides a rapper or basketball player."
Read quote
32 likes
"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."
Read quote
32 likes
"If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome."
Read quote
32 likes
"I wasn't as critical during games as I was at practice. Players needed confidence during games more than criticism."
Read quote
31 likes
"If I don't believe it, then they don't need me on the court. I've just got to believe that in my heart."
Read quote
31 likes
"A winner never whines."
Read quote
30 likes
"I would never recruit a player who yells at his teammates, disrespected his high school coach, or scores 33 points a game and his team goes 10-10."
Read quote
30 likes
"I only use statistics to reinforce what I already think, or if it's something unusual."
Read quote
30 likes
"I always mean what I say, but I don't always say what I'm thinking."
Read quote
30 likes