1. “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.” ― Michael Jordan
2. “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.” ― Tim Duncan
3. “If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit. Never quit!”Michael Jordan
4. “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” ― John Wooden
5. “The best thing to do after a poor performance is to bounce back with another great game.” ― Johnny Osaki
6. “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” ― Michael Jordan
7. “Do your best when no one is looking. If you do that, then you can be successful in anything that you put your mind to.” ― Bob Cousy
8. “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.” ― Michael Jordan
9. “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” ― John Wooden
10. “I would tell players to relax and never think about what’s at stake. Just think about the basketball game. If you start to think about who is going to win the championship, you’ve lost your focus.” ― Michael Jordan
11. “Remember that basketball is a game of habits. If you make the other guy deviate from his habits, you’ve got him.” ― Bill Russell
12. “Basketball is a lifelong game. You continue to learn from the game day in and day out, and all along the way, you get better.” ― Scottie Pippen
13. “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful! ”— Charles Barkley
14. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.” ― Michael Jordan
15. “There is nothing wrong with dedication and goals, but if you focus on yourself, all the lights fade away and you become a fleeting moment in life.” ― Pete Maravich
16. “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” ― Michael Jordan
17. “It takes three things to be a ‘special’ player: talent, character, and competitive fire.” ― Kevin Eastman
18. “Never give up. Failure and rejection are just the first steps to succeeding.” ― Jim Valvano
19. Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.” ― Magic Johnson
20. “We try to stress the little things because little things lead to big things.” ― Steve Alford
21. “If you want consistency, then you perform. This is a performance job. You get paid to perform. Your money is guaranteed, but your minutes are not.” ― Isiah Thomas
22. “Successful programs consist of people working hard, working together, while never worrying about who gets the credit.” ― Don Meyer
23. “In order to achieve positive results, one must work for them, not hope for them.” ― Bob Knight
24. “What you are as a person is far more important than what you are as a basketball player.” ― John Wooden
25. “What do you do with a mistake: recognize it, admit it, learn from it, forget it.” ― Dean Smith
26. 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
27. “I’m playing; I’m here. I’m going to fight until they tell me they don’t want me anymore.” ― Steve Nash
28. “The key is not the ‘will to win’… everybody has that. It is the will to prepare to win that is important.” ― Bob Knight
29. “Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” ― Bill Russell
30. “Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God’s way of saying nobody’s perfect.” ― Shaquille O’Neal
31. “Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.” ― Michael Jordan
32. “When it comes to team dynamics . . . maintaining a positive atmosphere is crucial.” ― Rick Pitino
33. “Don’t mistake activity with achievement.” ― John Wooden
34. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” ― Kevin Durant
35. “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.” ― Shaquille O’Neal
36. “Create unselfishness as the most important team attribute.” ― Bill Russell
37. “Hard work does pay, and you just have to continue to work …” ― Jason Kidd
38. “I gave everything I had to basketball. The passion is still there, but the desire to play is not. It was a great ride.” ― Allen Iverson
39. “Push yourself again and again. Don’t give an inch until the final buzzer sounds.” ― Larry Bird
40. “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” ― Jerry West
41. “There’s only one thing we can control, and that is how hard we play.” ― Don Meyer
42. “No matter what you say, you can have as many receivers as you want; there are enough balls to go around.” ― Kevin Johnson
43. “Don’t let what other people think decide who you are.” ― Dennis Rodman
44. “When I lose the sense of motivation and the sense to prove something as a basketball player, it’s time for me to move away from the game.” ― Michael Jordan
45. “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.” ― John Wooden
46. “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” ― Kobe Bryant
47. “When you think you have done enough, do a little more, because someone out there is working harder than you.” ― Larry Bird
48. “Your best player has to set a tone of intolerance for anything that gets in the way of winning.” ― Jeffrey Van Gundy
49. “Discover your gift, develop your gift, and then give it away every day.” – Don Meyer
50. “The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.” ― Charles Barkley
51. “Playing basketball calls for every part of your body, and every ability to move possessed by the human body.” ― Dre Baldwin
52. “How good can we expect to be if our best player is not our best teammate.” ― Brad Stevens
53. “The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.” ― Bill Russell
54. “Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.” ― Dean Smith
55. “Commitment separates those who live their dreams from those who live their lives regretting the opportunities they have squandered.” ― Bill Russell
56. “If you are afraid of failure you don’t deserve to be successful.” ― Charles Barkley
57. “Talent does all of the hard work on the court, but a player’s character and demeanor on and off of it are what defines his future as a superstar.” ― Clayton Geoffreys
58. “Basketball gave me the confidence to speak out and it gave me the platform to be heard.” ― Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
59. Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.” ― Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
60. “Team work is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one.” ― Mike Krzyzewski
61. “There is a lot of basketball beyond our control, but a player should never let anyone try harder than he does.” ― Dean Smith
62. “If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren’t able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment.” ― John Wooden
63. “The best teams have chemistry. They communicate with each other and they sacrifice personal glory for the common goal.” ― Dave DeBusschere
64. “Everything negative — pressure, challenges — are all an opportunity for me to rise.” ― Kobe Bryant
65. “When you’re not practicing, someone else is getting better.” ― Allen Iverson
66. “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.” ― Michael Jordan
67. “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” ― Jerry West
68. “I really get motivated when I have doubters.” ― Shaquille O’Neal
69. “Failure is good. It’s fertilizer. Everything I’ve learned about coaching I’ve learned from making mistakes.” ― Rick Pitino
70. “One player’s selfish attitude can poison a locker room and make it hard, if not impossible, to establish team work.” ― Dean Smith
71. “Basketball is like photography, if you don’t focus, all you have is the negative.” ― Dan Frisby
72. “Put great thought to what and how you practice. Once practice is done you can never get that time back. Did you simulate the game?” ― Kevin Eastman
73. “There is no such thing as a perfect basketball player, and I don’t believe there is only one greatest player either.” ― Michael Jordan
74. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” ― Michael Jordan
75. “Discipline is doing what has to be done, when it has to be done, as well as it can be done, and doing it that way all the time.” ― Bob Knight
76. “Once you are labeled the best you want to stay up there, and you can’t do it by loafing around. If I don’t keep changing, I’m history. ” ― Larry Bird
77. “Sometimes a player’s greatest challenge is coming to grips with his role on the team.” ― Scottie Pippen
78. “If you quit ONCE it becomes a habit. Never quit!”Michael Jordan
79. “I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty six 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 “One of the ways to improve creativity is to force players to think.” ― Keith Rumjahn
80. “Confidence is a lot of this game or any game. If you don’t think you can, you won’t.” ― Jerry West
81. “Never give up. Failure and rejection are just the first steps to succeeding.” ― Jim Valvano