These NBA quotes will inspire you. The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America.
Below you will find a collection of motivating, happy, and encouraging NBA quotes, NBA sayings, and NBA proverbs.
Best NBA Quotes
- “Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “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
- “You always have to be on edge. You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last.” ~ Kobe Bryant
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“Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “Everyting negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” ~ Kobe Bryant
- “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “Anything can happen with hard work and dedication” ~ Jerry West
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“I’m hungrier than those other guys out there. Every rebound is a personal challenge.” ~ Dennis Rodman
- “Everyone wants to do what the great ones do; but very few are willing to do what they did to become great” ~ Jon Gordon
- “It’s not about the number of hours you practice, it’s about the number of hours your mind is present during the practice” ~ Kobe Bryant
- “Live the moment for the moment.” ~ Michael Jordan
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“The key to success is failure” ~ Michael Jordan
- “The time when there is no one there to feel sorry for you or to cheer for you is when a player is made.” ~ Tim Duncan
- “I play every game like it’s my last game. All that matters is that you go out there and play every game as if it was your last.” ~ Allen Iverson
- “Everything happens for a reason. I’m used to it, I prepare for it. Like I say, at the end of the day, those in charge of their own destiny are going to do what’s right for them and their family.” ~ Shaquille O’Neal
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“Failure makes me work even harder.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “Perfection is impossibility but striving for perfection is not. Do the best you can. That is what counts.” ~ John Wooden
- “Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “If you do the work you get rewarded. There are no shortcuts in life.” ~ Michael Jordan , NBA quotes about life
- “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
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“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “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
- “If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit.Never quit!!!” ~ Michael Jordan
- “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
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“I take everything I learned from the streets and put it in my NBA game.” ~ Allen Iverson
- “Working hard is one thing, but working hard with purpose is what separates the good from the great” ~ Thad Matta
- “Each group and each youngster is different. As a leader or coach, you get to know what they need.” ~ Mike Krzyzewski
- “Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.” ~ Dean Smith , NBA quotes basketball
- “Seek opportunities to show you care. The smallest gestures often make the biggest difference.” ~ John Wooden
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“Get the fundamentals down and the level of everything you do will rise” ~ Michael Jordan
- “Great players and great teams want to be driven. They want to be pushed to the edge. They don’t want to be cheated. Ordinary players and average teams want it to be easy” ~ Pat Riley
- “Talent sets the floor, character sets the ceiling” ~ Bill Belichick
- “If you do things with a certain type of result and cause a certain type of reaction or effect, then you increase your market value. It’s very much a competition for the entertainment dollar, and that’s never been more clearly evident than in today’s NBA game.” ~ Julius Erving
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“Happiness begins where selfishness ends.” ~ John Wooden
- “Push yourself to keep improving or you’ll stay as close to the bottom as you are to the top” ~ John Wooden
- “Young people need models, not critics.” ~ John Wooden
- “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
- “Everybody wants to take responsibility when you win, but when you fail, all these fingers are pointing.” ~ Mike Krzyzewski
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“Once you are labeled ‘the best’ you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around.” ~ Larry Bird
- “The”The guys who take shortcuts, who aren’t ready, they fail when their opportunity comes” ~ Tom Thibodeau
- main ingredient of stardom is the rest of the team.” ~ John Wooden
- “You can’t always be the most talented person in the room. But you can be the most competitive” ~ Pat Summitt
- “In order to achieve to achieve positive results, one must work for them, not hope for them” ~ Bobby Knight
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“Be strong in body, clean in mind, lofty in ideals.” ~ James Naismith
- “If you put everything together as far as my mind, my body, my game. If you put everything in one bottle, this is probably the best I’ve been.” ~ LeBron James
- “Each game is an opportunity to be on a great stage and be a witness for Christ. When I step on the floor, people should know who I represent, who I believe in.” ~ Stephen Curry
- “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
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“The same way you slow me down: … You can’t.” ~ LeBron James
- “The goal is to make practice more difficult, physically/mentally, than anything your players will face during a game.” ~ Bobby Knight
- “You can’t let praise or criticism get to you. It’s a weakness to get caught up in either one.” ~ John Wooden
- “The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.” ~ Bill Russell
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“Not a game, not a game… practice.” ~ Allen Iverson
- “Promise to wear a cheerful appearance at all times and give every person you meet a smile.” ~ John Wooden
- “I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot… when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “I’ve never lost a game I just ran out of time.” ~ Michael Jordan
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“1. Be on time. 2. Never criticize a teammate. 3. Never use profanity.” ~ John Wooden
- “David Stern should get with the mothers of the NBA and let the moms decide what the dress code should be. I asked my mother if I could wear a chain, and she told me yeah. So I do stuff that my parents allow me to do.” ~ Shaquille O’Neal
- “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” ~ 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
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“I play to win, whether during practice or a real game.” ~ Michael Jordan
- “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
- “The greatest compliment to any player is he is a great teammate. We can’t all be great players, but we can all be great teammates” ~ Jay Bilas
- “Mental Toughness is doing the right thing for the team when it’s not the best thing for you.” ~ Bill Belichick
- “I don’t complain about playing time. My job is to play so well the coach can’t sit me.” ~ Shane Battier
