It’s difficult to stay motivated especially if you’re constantly facing hardships and failures. However, a few words from your favorite NBA players and coaches can give you the fuel to continue moving forward. These quotes are powerful enough to lift you up if you’re feeling down or just needed an extra push in your workout. After all, most of the famous NBA quotes came from the greatest players and coaches themselves.
Famous NBA quotes
You might be wondering why these NBA greats have so much wisdom about the game. The answer is simple: They experienced lots of ups and downs throughout their careers. It’s just right that they have something to say about the game after what they have gone through.
Michael Jordan, one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history, has said some of the most famous NBA quotes of all time. He had countless failures before he became one of the greatest players of all time. Basketball fans and players from all around the world even put Jordan’s quotes on a frame.
Apart from him, there are a plethora of NBA players who came up with quotes about motivation, hard work, and success. Here are the 50 famous NBA quotes of all time…
Inspirational NBA quotes
1. “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
2. “Keep practicing. Never let anyone tell you’re too small or too slow.” – Chris Paul
3. “If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.” – Kobe Bryant
4. “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
5. “To be the best, you have to work the hardest. You have to chase what seems impossible over and over and over again, because giving up is not an option, and when you feel like you’ve reached your limit, it’s only the beginning, that’s when it’s time to dig deep, to find the courage to push some more.” – LeBron James
6. “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
7. “Confidence is everything in this game, if you don’t think you can, you won’t.” – Jerry West
8. “Everything negative – pressure, challenges – is all an opportunity for me to rise.” – Kobe Bryant
9. “We had nonbelievers all along the way, and I have one thing to say to those nonbelievers: Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion!“ – Rudy Tomjanovich
10. “If you can’t go through it, find a way around it. Don’t spend all your time banging your head against it.” – Lenny Wilkens
NBA quotes about hard work
1. “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” – Kevin Durant
2. “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. Until your good is better and your better is best.” – Tim Duncan
3. “I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.” – Kobe Bryant
4. “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” – Jerry West
5. “When you think you have done enough, do a little more, because someone out there is working harder than you.” – Larry Bird
6. “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail. Poise and confidence are a natural result of proper preparation.” – John Wooden
7. “When you’re not practicing, someone else is getting better.” — Allen Iverson
8. “I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.” — Larry Bird
9. “All the days that you wake up you have one job and that’s to get better, every single day.” — Derrick Rose
10. “Whatever I try to do, I always try to give it my best and try to be a killer because, at the end of the day, if you don’t work hard, you are not going to get food on your table.” — Giannis Antetokounmpo
Basketball quotes about teamwork
1. “Basketball is a beautiful game when the five players on the court play with one heartbeat.” – Dean Smith
2. “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” – Michael Jordan
3. “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” – Phil Jackson
4. “The most important measure of how good a game I played was how much better I’d made my teammates play.” – Bill Russell
5. “Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
6. “There is no “I” in team but there is in win.” – Michael Jordan
7. “Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.” – Magic Johnson
8. “To me, teamwork is the beauty of our sport, where you have five acting as one.” – Mike Krzyzewski
9. “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
10. “When an elevator brings you upstairs, you better send it back down to bring others up.” – Dikembe Mutombo
NBA quotes about life and success
1. “I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success.” – Kobe Bryant
2. “Ability may get you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there.” John Wooden
3. “To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve. And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish. Stay reachable. Stay in touch. Don’t isolate.” ― Michael Jordan
4. “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
5. “Success is a result of consistent practice of winning skills and actions. There is nothing miraculous about the process. There is no luck involved.” – Bill Russell
6. “Be a dreamer. If you don’t know how to dream, you’re dead.”― Jim Valvano
7. “I’ve always believed that success for anyone is all about drive, dedication, and desire, but for me, it’s also been about confidence and faith.” – Stephen Curry
8. “I don’t try to live up to nobody’s expectations. I just try to be me, be the best version of myself that I can be.” – Zion Williamson
9. “Don’t let what other people think decide who you are.” – Dennis Rodman
10. “The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life – mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.” – Doc Rivers
Funny NBA quotes
1. “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
2. “Me shooting 40% at the foul line is just God’s way to say nobody’s perfect.” ― Shaquille O’Neal
3. “I’ll always remember this as the night that Michael Jordan and I combined for 70 points.” ― Stacey King
4. “Left hand, right hand, doesn’t matter… I’m amphibious.” ― Charles Shackleford
5. “We’re going to turn this team around 360 degrees.” ― Jason Kidd
6. “The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot.” – Bill Russell
7. “Any time Detroit scores more than 100 points and holds the other team below 100 points, they almost always win.” ― Doug Collins
8. “I’m tired of hearing about money, money, money, money. I just want to play the game, drink Pepsi, wear Reebok.” ― Shaquille O’Neal
9. “We talkin’ ‘bout practice. Yeah I know I’m supposed to lead by example and all of that, but we talkin’ ‘bout practice!” ― Allen Iverson
10. “I knew I was dog meat. Luckily, I’m the high-priced dog meat that everybody wants. I’m the good-quality dog meat. I’m the Alpo of the NBA.” ― Shaquille O’Neal
