Quotes and Sayings about Basketball
"I tell kids to pursue their basketball dreams, but I tell them to not let that be their only dream."
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
(Related: Dreams, Basketball, Kids)
"I have been coaching recently. I coached high school basketball in Arizona, and I hope that more opportunities become available."
- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
(Related: Hope, Basketball, Coaching, School)
"Basketball is like war in that offensive weapons are developed first, and it always takes a while for the defense to catch up."
- Red Auerbach
(Related: War, Basketball, Defense, First, Weapons)
"If I weren't earning $3 million a year to dunk a basketball, most people on the street would run in the other direction if they saw me coming."
- Charles Barkley
(Related: People, Basketball, Direction)
"I'm not a role model... Just because I dunk a basketball doesn't mean I should raise your kids."
- Charles Barkley
(Related: Basketball, Kids)
"For example, Michael Jordan earns $100million a year but continues to play basketball and remains a modest human being."
- Franz Beckenbauer
(Related: Basketball, Being, Example, Play)
"If you're playing basketball with someone who's better than you, you have to get better or else it's no fun."
- Jason Behr
(Related: Basketball, Fun)
"I've always been like that. I was a tomboy when I was a kid, so I was always playing baseball and basketball and football and stuff as a kid with the boys."
- Catherine Bell
(Related: Baseball, Basketball, Boys, Football)
"When it gets down to it, basketball is basketball."
- Larry Bird
(Related: Basketball)
"I just want to try to ignore the scrutiny and all the distractions and just play hard basketball and let the best come... Improving game by game and trying to improve my game is what I want to do."
- Andrew Bogut
(Related: Basketball, Play, Trying, Want)
"It wasn't until late high school and early college that I gained enough size and skill to make me welcome on intramural basketball teams."
- Paul D. Boyer
(Related: Basketball, College, School, Skill)
"Trying to take money out of politics is like trying to take jumping out of basketball."
- Bill Bradley
(Related: Money, Politics, Basketball, Trying)
"I had no experience with broadcasting basketball games, so I took a tape recorder and went to a playground where there was a summer league, and I stood up in the top of the stands and I called the game."
- Ed Bradley
(Related: Experience, Basketball, Games, Summer)
"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
(Related: Life, Love, Basketball, Day, Ego, End, Games, Job)
"I like low-maintenance girls, but at the same time, classy. She needs to take care of herself. But also be a girl who isn't afraid to get sweaty and play basketball, so it's cool if she's a tomboy."
- Chris Brown
(Related: Time, Basketball, Care, Girls, Needs, Play)
"We've got to play better basketball."
- Tim Buckley
(Related: Basketball, Play)
"But the point of using the number was to show that sex was a great part of my life as basketball was a great part of my life. That's the reason why I was single."
- Wilt Chamberlain
(Related: Life, Sex, Basketball, Reason)
"I also developed an interest in sports, and played in informal games at a nearby school yard where the neighborhood children met to play touch football, baseball, basketball and occasionally, ice hockey."
- Steven Chu
(Related: Sports, Baseball, Basketball, Children, Football, Games, Interest, Play, School)
"Theaters are great. They're designed to sound good, not for basketball."
- Les Claypool
(Related: Basketball, Sound)
"The thing I like about my body is that it's strong. I can move furniture around my apartment. I can ride my horse... I can play basketball. It's a well functioning machine."
- Cindy Crawford
(Related: Basketball, Body, Machine, Play)
"I sail, scuba dive, play football, basketball."
- Casper Van Dien
(Related: Basketball, Football, Play)
"I always wanted to be a basketball player."
- Ronnie James Dio
(Related: Basketball)
"I always dreamt of being a basketball player. A dream that only I believed in."
- David Duchovny
(Related: Dream, Basketball, Being)
"In sixth grade, my basketball team made it to the league championships. In double overtime, with three seconds left, I rebounded the ball and passed it - to the wrong team! They scored at the buzzer and we lost the game. To this day, I still have nightmares!"
- Zac Efron
(Related: Basketball, Day, Wrong)
"In 1981, at age 31, I was voted the best player in basketball, and the most valuable player in the league."
- Julius Erving
(Related: Age, Basketball)
"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
(Related: Home, Basketball, Being, Influence, Learning)
"And from the first time I picked up a basketball at age eight - I had a lot of difficulty when I first picked up a basketball, because I was a scrub - there were things that I liked about it."
- Julius Erving
(Related: Age, Time, Basketball, Difficulty, First)
"I had all the normal interests - I played basketball and I headed the school paper. But I also developed very early a great love for music and literature and the theater."
- Carlisle Floyd
(Related: Love, Music, Basketball, Literature, School, Theater)
"I enjoy listening to classical music and heavy metal. I play basketball and try to go diving at least once a year. I don't really have hobbies in the traditional sense... I engage in too many activities already through the actions of my characters."
- Alan Dean Foster
(Related: Music, Actions, Basketball, Hobbies, Listening, Play, Sense)
"Since I left basketball, and my wife, it's been a glorious feast of lovemaking."
- Rick Fox
(Related: Wife, Basketball)
"So you're dealing with a coach, and you're dealing with a guy who's actually experienced NBA basketball from a player's perspective and actually goes about it that way."
- Kevin Garnett
(Related: Basketball, Coach, Perspective)
"Not only is Rip Hamilton an outstanding basketball player, he is also known for giving back to his community."
- Jim Gerlach
(Related: Basketball, Community, Giving)
"I think I have the skills. I'm a great judge of talent. I just know basketball."
- Tim Hardaway
(Related: Talent, Basketball)
"I'm pretty athletic and I play basketball a lot."
- Jay Hernandez
(Related: Basketball, Play, Pretty)
"I've done a lot of basketball drills, not a whole lot of competitive stuff. I have basically been in the gym everyday working on my game, working on the time off that I've had from the game, just getting myself prepared mentally and physically for the season."
- Grant Hill
(Related: Time, Basketball)
"I believe that whatever we have, regardless of a trade being done or not, I feel we have a shot. I've just got to believe that we're going to be all right. I've got to just play basketball."
- Allen Iverson
(Related: Basketball, Being, Play, Right, Trade)
"I also tell them that your education can take you way farther than a football, baseball, track, or basketball will - that's just the bottom line."
- Bo Jackson
(Related: Education, Baseball, Basketball, Football, Will)
"To see a player dunk in women's college basketball is just amazing. It's great to see that the game has reached that level now."
- Holly Johnson
(Related: Women, Basketball, College, Now)
"I have no desire to coach basketball."
- Kevin Johnson
(Related: Basketball, Coach, Desire)
"I wanted to do two things when I was growing up, about your age. I wanted to play in the NBA, and I wanted to be a businessman after my basketball career was over, and that is what I am doing now."
- Magic Johnson
(Related: Age, Basketball, Career, Growing up, Now, Play)
"It's very warm there, so we were outdoors all the time. The local people had programs for us year-round, where as kids we had the opportunity to play football, basketball, baseball, track and field - we just went from one sport to the next, year-round."
- Rafer Johnson
(Related: Time, People, Opportunity, Baseball, Basketball, Football, Kids, Play)
"And it blew my mind when I started to get wind of the fact that they actually liked me being around. That was humbling, because Kentucky basketball is a big deal, and I am not the biggest fan - I am just the most notorious one."
- Ashley Judd
(Related: Basketball, Being, Fact, Kentucky, Mind, Wind)
"The 76ers currently play very good basketball, and we don't. However, we are still only one win behind them. If we continue to improve, we should be on the top of our division at the end of the regular season."
- Jason Kidd
(Related: Basketball, End, Play)
"The business always gets in the way of basketball."
- Jason Kidd
(Related: Business, Basketball)
"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
(Related: Basketball, Friends, Want)
"If there wasn't any business and it was just strictly basketball, then there would be no issue, it would probably be done by now. But the team has to protect."
- Jason Kidd
(Related: Business, Basketball, Now)
"I like basketball, and I've been to three games, which is so much more fun than seeing it on TV, I think."
- Heidi Klum
(Related: Basketball, Fun, Games)
"You don't play against opponents, you play against the game of basketball."
- Bobby Knight
(Related: Basketball, Opponents, Play)
"Walking has been ridiculous in college basketball the past 15 years."
- Bobby Knight
(Related: Basketball, College, Past, Walking, Years)
"As I've said, basketball has been, I think, a real cooperative venture. There have been a lot of people that have been involved in it: coaches, administrators - not recently - fans and nobody, nobody any more so than students over the years."
- Bobby Knight
(Related: People, Basketball, Coaches, Fans, Students, Years)
"As all of us with any involvement in sports knows, no two umpires or no two referees have the same strike zone or call the same kind of a basketball game."
- Herb Kohl
(Related: Sports, Basketball, Zone)
"That's what I do now: I lead and I teach. If we win basketball games from doing that, then that's great, but I lead and teach. Those are the two things I concentrate on."
- Mike Krzyzewski
(Related: Basketball, Games)
"With me and basketball, it became part of me."
- Mike Krzyzewski
(Related: Basketball)
"Basketball was not my main sport in grade school, or even the first year of high school."
- Mike Krzyzewski
(Related: Basketball, First, School)
"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
(Related: Basketball, Play, Want)
"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 sport. Not just basketball, but to sport."
- Mike Krzyzewski
(Related: Failure, Hope, Winning, Basketball, Kids, Teachers)
"The cast gets along pretty well, it's a good work environment. I hang out a lot with Brett Claywell, he plays Tim Smith on the show. We play plenty of basketball."
- James Lafferty
(Related: Work, Basketball, Environment, Play, Pretty)
"I played in Joe Louis in a playoff game. I played there when the roof caved in for half a season. The facility is great for basketball because it goes straight up, so you feel like the fans are on top of you."
- Bill Laimbeer
(Related: Basketball, Fans)
"I had never picked up a basketball before. I went through a grueling audition process. It was almost as if I was learning to walk. It would be like teaching somebody to dance ballet for a role."
- Sanaa Lathan
(Related: Dance, Ballet, Basketball, Learning, Teaching)
"Magic Johnson, former basketball player, may run for mayor of LA in the next election. Remember the good 'ol days when only qualified people ran for office like actors and professional wrestlers."
- Jay Leno
(Related: People, Actors, Basketball, Magic, May, Office)
"Baseball happens to be a game of cumulative tension but football, basketball and hockey are played with hand grenades and machine guns."
- John Leonard
(Related: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Machine, Tension)
"My goals have gone from being an all-star to just being able to play basketball. I always took for granted that I could play. Now I know what a gift it is."
- Rebecca Lobo
(Related: Goals, Basketball, Being, Now, Play)
"I was homecoming queen. I was star of my basketball team."
- Marla Maples
(Related: Basketball, Queen)
"My life had no meaning at all. I found only brief interludes of satisfaction. It was like my whole life had been about my whole basketball career."
- Pete Maravich
(Related: Life, Basketball, Career, Meaning, Satisfaction)
"I live in L.A., so I go to basketball games. But I love baseball."
- Penny Marshall
(Related: Love, Baseball, Basketball, Games)
"And my father didn't have money for me to go to college. And at that particular time they didn't have black quarterbacks, and I don't think I could have made it in basketball, because I was only 5' 11". So I just picked baseball."
- Willie Mays
(Related: Money, Time, Father, Baseball, Basketball, College)
"I think the greatest all-around athlete ever was Jim Brown. He played lacrosse, basketball and ran track at Syracuse. He played professional football for the Browns."
- Will McDonough
(Related: Basketball, Football)
"I coach my daughter's softball and basketball team. We go to all the school functions. We go out to eat at night and take the kids to the movies. We try to be as normal as we can."
- Tim McGraw
(Related: Movies, Daughter, Basketball, Coach, Kids, Night, School)
"Every little kid that steps on the court or the field has aspirations to go pro. I think being a pro basketball player is the best job. The thing I had to realize was that I can't do every dream that I have."
- Brian McKnight
(Related: Dream, Aspirations, Basketball, Being, Court, Job)
"Basketball, in America, is like a culture. It is like a foreigner learning a new language. It is difficult to learn foreign languages and it will also be difficult for me to learn the culture for basketball here."
- Yao Ming
(Related: America, Basketball, Culture, Language, Learning, Will)
"The only reason I went to college was to play basketball. I injured my knee and couldn't play."
- Jeffrey Dean Morgan
(Related: Basketball, College, Play, Reason)
"In my first film, I was a basketball player. Like every good actor, I lied when they asked me if I could play."
- David Morse
(Related: Actor, Basketball, Film, First, Play)
"Yeah, I like cars and basketball. But you know what I like more? Bananas."
- Frankie Muniz
(Related: Basketball)
"In the original script, my character was a basketball player rather than a boxer. I didn't think I could pull that off. I'm a little short to be a basketball player!"
- Eddie Murphy
(Related: Character, Basketball)
"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
(Related: Accident, Basketball, Boys, Invention, Play)
"I am sure that no man can derive more pleasure from money or power than I do from seeing a pair of basketball goals in some out of the way place."
- James Naismith
(Related: Money, Power, Goals, Basketball, Man, Pleasure)
"My father was a soccer player. All my friends played basketball though, so I stuck with basketball."
- Steve Nash
(Related: Father, Basketball, Friends, Soccer)
"Basketball isn't as popular in Canada as it is in the US. Hockey is by far the most popular sport in Canada."
- Steve Nash
(Related: Basketball, Canada, Popular)
"When I look at the system here and look at my position - not just as a basketball player, but when I look around me at the values of the people and the culture and compare them with the values of where I came from - I feel so blessed to be from Africa."
- Hakeem Olajuwon
(Related: People, Values, Basketball, Culture)
"Basketball is in my blood. It is my obligation to try."
- Hakeem Olajuwon
(Related: Basketball, Blood, Obligation)
"Nobody cared about swimming. You could draw a crowd for basketball."
- Merlin Olsen
(Related: Basketball)
"The basketball coach cut me within two days, so I was back in the pool. I was the first one in the wall after the first 25 yards, but the last one out because I didn't have a flip turn."
- Merlin Olsen
(Related: Basketball, Coach, First)
"It took me a while to realize that basketball wasn't football."
- Merlin Olsen
(Related: Basketball, Football)
"Someday I might have to put down a basketball and have a regular 9-to-5 like everybody else."
- Shaquille O'Neal
(Related: Basketball)
"I started out as a football player. I liked to inflict pain. In basketball, it was the same thing."
- Shaquille O'Neal
(Related: Basketball, Football, Pain)
"And I want to do it the right way, like everybody else, not just a famous figurehead that gets a job because he is a famous basketball player. I want to really learn the business."
- Shaquille O'Neal
(Related: Business, Basketball, Famous, Job, Right, Want)
"I wanted a NBA basketball gym at my house and that's what I worked hard for and I was able to achieve that."
- Terrell Owens
(Related: Basketball)
"By analogy, if we were to develop a soccer team, then we would not invite basketball and volleyball players to the try outs. We would invite soccer players to apply."
- Jean-Marie Le Pen
(Related: Basketball, Soccer)
"I think I was a good student, because I jumped over a school. My main interest was basically history and literature. Sports were basically basketball and swimming at a pool. I was so happy."
- Shimon Peres
(Related: History, Sports, Basketball, Interest, Literature, School)
"He knew I enjoyed the relationships of college basketball. All along, he was the wise one."
- Rick Pitino
(Related: Basketball, College, Relationships)
"I think we have our sports within our own culture that are huge with baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. Those are the sports in America that we grow up with and soccer isn't really there yet."
- Claudio Reyna
(Related: Sports, America, Baseball, Basketball, Culture, Football, Soccer)
"You don't cut anywhere, don't pick down anywhere, don't double screen, no weak side picking. All these things that should happen in a game of basketball don't happen anymore."
- Oscar Robertson
(Related: Basketball)
"You need a teaching coach who understands the game of basketball, not just some guy coming on the court talking about Xs and Os."
- Oscar Robertson
(Related: Basketball, Coach, Court, Talking, Teaching)
"Basketball is basketball."
- Oscar Robertson
(Related: Basketball)
"I think that basketball players should get the job done no matter how it looks on the screen."
- Oscar Robertson
(Related: Basketball, Job)
"If you're a basketball player, you've got to shoot."
- Oscar Robertson
(Related: Basketball)
"I'm the basketball version of a gravedigger."
- Dennis Rodman
(Related: Basketball)
"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
(Related: Women, Basketball, Chance, Girls, Gold, Now, Soccer)
"Football, basketball, and the Olympic sports all have their problems with banned substances."
- Jim Sensenbrenner
(Related: Sports, Basketball, Football, Problems)
"I play basketball on Sundays and I'm a very spiritual guy; I read a lot of Eastern philosophy and I meditate."
- Garry Shandling
(Related: Basketball, Philosophy, Play, Spiritual)
"I enjoy the last quarter of all basketball games."
- Sarah Silverman
(Related: Basketball, Games)
"Basketball is a team game. But that doesn't mean all five players should have the same amount of shots."
- Dean Smith
(Related: Basketball)
"When I was growing up, we used to play basketball in a park that was never shoveled when it snowed. The basketball rims were never fixed. And we understood then that there was a relationship between public policy and our quality of life."
- DeForest Soaries
(Related: Life, Quality, Policy, Basketball, Growing up, Play, Public, Public policy)
"Then I went to UCLA - so of course I became a huge Bruin basketball fan... and later came to football."
- Leigh Steinberg
(Related: Basketball, Football)
"In football, there were drinks available everywhere you looked. On a golf tournament, you could find one free anywhere you wanted it. In tennis and NBA basketball, everybody had a hospitality suite, and so you could go there and load up if you wanted to."
- Pat Summerall
(Related: Basketball, Drinks, Football, Golf, Hospitality, Tennis)
"We look for opportunities to play together including basketball, tennis, swimming, riding bikes and touch football. I try to provide a loving environment where we can play. I think that's good on so many levels - emotionally, for family interactions and, of course, physically."
- Alan Thicke
(Related: Family, Basketball, Environment, Football, Play, Tennis)
"My greatest gift that I have in life is basketball."
- Isaiah Thomas
(Related: Life, Basketball)
"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."
- Isaiah Thomas
(Related: Life, Basketball, Being, Job, Rest)
"It wasn't about the X's and the O's and the strategy; it was more about keeping 12 guys focused and committed to a task. That group dynamic, and then helping them to grow as people and basketball players."
- Isaiah Thomas
(Related: People, Strategy, Basketball)
"The caliber of play suffered and attendance declined year by year. Interest in college football was exploding, and there was this new game called basketball."
- John Thorn
(Related: Basketball, College, Football, Interest, Play)
"Michael Jordan was a tremendous basketball player."
- Lee Trevino
(Related: Basketball)
"Handball, swimming, running, jumping, basketball, and boxing were as much a part of me as breathing."
- Gene Tunney
(Related: Basketball, Boxing, Running)
"It's not to hurt anyone, but basketball can be rough."
- Sue Wicks
(Related: Basketball, Hurt)
"I try to never lose sight of what a special time it is to be a women's basketball player."
- Sue Wicks
(Related: Time, Women, Basketball, Sight)
"Both of us played basketball, and I played tennis and my knees are done. Now if you ask us head-to-head who wins at golf, I'm asking for a couple of strokes."
- Michael Wilbon
(Related: Basketball, Golf, Now, Tennis)
"Charles and I go back since college. None of us thought this would happen, we just wanted to play basketball. This is the highest honor that can ever be paid, and it's mind-blowing."
- Dominique Wilkins
(Related: Thought, Basketball, College, Honor, Mind, Play)
"I played baseball, and that's pretty much it. Basketball came late, this was, basketball was the sport that I tried to master, I kind of mastered baseball, so basketball was one of those things where I wanted to master this game, so that's why I probably play it the way I do."
- Eric Williams
(Related: Baseball, Basketball, Play, Pretty)
"Once I grew from 6'1" to about 6'6", by that time I was going into 12th grade, and that's when I started wanting to play basketball, because, pretty much basketball players always got the girl."
- Eric Williams
(Related: Time, Basketball, Play, Pretty)
"I played varsity on all of them for four years. I'm 5'9 and that's not that tall for a center so I was a forward. I loved playing volleyball and basketball and track I was good at, but it stressed me out."
- Bridgette Wilson
(Related: Basketball, Years)
"What you are as a person is far more important that what you are as a basketball player."
- John Wooden
(Related: Basketball)
"Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps."
- Tiger Woods
(Related: Men, Basketball, Golf)
"I played basketball to try to get my parents from working so hard."
- James Worthy
(Related: Basketball, Parents)