Basketball Quotes

A collection of inspirational basketball quotes listed alphabetically by the person quoted.

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Basketball Quotes (We feel that our quotes are all great resources for basketball coaching and for life in general. We hope that you will find them to be useful!)

Source Unknown

• "Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it’s about learning how to dance in the rain."
• "It takes no talent to hustle."
• "Hard head leads to sore rear end" (from sitting on the bench)
• “Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that final victory comes.”
• "When we have done our best, we should wait the result in peace."
  
  
• "There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going."
  
• “Leadership is a privilege and with privilege comes responsibility.”
  
•  “Leadership is the art of mobilizing and energizing the intellectual and creative resources of all people at all levels of the organization.”
  
•  “Present choices determine future consequences.”
  
•  “The first and perhaps final test of leadership is your ability to attract and keep followers.”
  
  
• “The highest compliment leaders can receive is the one that is given by the people who work for them.”
  
• “The race is not always to the swift... but to those who keep on running.”
  
• “Trust is the glue that holds everything together.”
  
• “We teach what we know, but we reproduce who we are."
  
• “You can't be persuasive and abrasive at the same time.”
  
  
• "The leader who sells principles for popularity will soon be bankrupt."
  
• You reap what you sow.
  
• "You have to choose the voice you are going to trust. You can’t listen to everyone."
  
• "Pride is the sheet anchor of morality. The doer of noble deeds. When love flies and hope fails, Pride still lingers.The savage rear guard of the human soul."
  
•  "Discipline is the refining fire which enables talent to become ability."
  
  
• "To handle yourself, use your head, to handle others, use your heart."
  
• "One of the greatest gifts leaders can give others is hope."
  
• "The boss depends on authority, the leader depends on good will."
  
• The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind in other people the convictions and the will to carry on.
  
• "The boss says 'go,' the leader says 'let’s go.' "
  
  
• "A good leader is a guy who can step on your toes without messing up your shine."
  
• "The man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd."
  
• "You cannot lead anyone else farther than you have been able to go yourself.."
  
• "Be the most enthusiastic person you know."
  
• "We would accomplish many more things if we id not think them impossible."
  
  
• "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did."
  
• "A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them."
  
• "Good leaders must first become good servants".
  
• "Great works are performed not by strength, but by perseverance."
  
• A big man is one who makes us feel bigger when we are with him.”
  
  
• Don't spend a dollar's worth of time on a dime decision."
  
• "We are judged by what we finish, not what we start."
  
• Advice for dealing with extremely difficult people, "Don't wrestle with the pigs. You both get mud on you, and the pigs like it."
  
• Your toughest competition in life is anyone who is willing to work harder than you."
  
• "A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the quality of his actions and the integrity of his intent."
  
  
• "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away; but, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."
  
• "When you're through improving, you're through."
• "A person who is successful has simply formed the habit of doing things that unsuccessful people will not do."
  
• "Your attitude is either the lock or the key to the door of success."  
  
• "It’s OK to lend a helping hand, the challenging part is getting people to let go of it."
  
  
• "If you have to tell people you are in charge, you aren’t."
  
• "Outstanding leaders will appeal to the hearts of their followers, not their minds."
  
• "There are two quick ways to disaster—taking nobody’s advice and taking everybody’s advice."
  
• "A wise leader resolves conflicts peaceably, not forcibly."
  
• "The best way to see the future is to create it."
  
  
• "True leadership must be for the benefit of the followers, not the enrichment of the leaders."
  
• "To love what you do and feel that it matters—how could anything be more fun?"
  
• "Everybody wants to follow the leader; but, nobody wants to lead the followers."
  
• "Our patience will achieve more than our force."
  
• "Leadership is not a role, it is a function."
  
  
• "Love and respect do not automatically accompany a position of leadership, they must be earned."
  
• "You never know who’s right, but you always know who’s in charge."
  
• “A leader’s success is largely determined by the ability to motivate others.”
  
• “Leaders get out in front and stay there by raising the standards by which they judge themselves—and by which they are willing to be judged.”
  
• "Your attitude is either the lock or the key to the door of success."
  
  
• "Shine your stars, work your horses, Fix your problems, Get rid of deadwood."
  
• "A team consist of not only the players on the court, but also the coaches and the bench. It is a team game and a team wins!"
  
• "We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust our sails."
  
• "Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly."  
  
• "What you do reflects your attitude, not what you say or even how you say it." 
  
  
• Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds you down or polishes you up depends on what you're made of."
• Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day.  Teach a man how to fish and he will eat for a lifetime.
• Prejudice is a great time saver, it enables one to form opinions without bothering to get the facts.
• Real leaders have no need to advertise their leadership except by their conduct, sympathy, understanding, and ability."