Basketball Player Quotes
What could be better when you’re down but reading the words of other basketball players who you can relate to?
How about famous basketball players?
You know, the ones you’ve been looking up to all your life. Michael Jordan quotes. Magic Johnson quotes. Larry Bird quotes. Yeah, those guys! Many current and former players have said exactly what you need to be hearing right now.
Because of space restrictions, we couldn’t list all the great basketball player quotes for each player here. However, on our Superhero Basketball Quotes page, you can find a more in-depth collection of quotes for each player.
Additionally, in our Great Basketball Quotes area, you’ll discover hundreds of more quotes relating to the game of basketball or motivation.
Enjoy the following basketball player quotes!
Now, on to the Basketball Player Quotes!
Basketball Player Quotes (1-5)
- “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
- “You’re the only one who can make the difference. Whatever your dream is, go for it.” – Magic Johnson
- “If you have ability in a certain area, why not capitalize on it and improve it and use it?” – Wilt Chamberlain
- “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
- “Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.” – Bill Russell
Basketball Player Quotes (6-10)
- “The only difference between a good shot and a bad shot is if it goes in or not.” – Charles Barkley
- “Leadership is diving for a loose ball, getting the crowd involved, getting other players involved. It’s being able to take it as well as dish it out. That’s the only way you’re going to get respect from the players.” – Larry Bird
- “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
- “Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- “I just do what I got to do and go out and be myself, on and off the court, and take care of my obligations. That’s generally your own destiny—knowing what you have to take care of.” – LeBron James
Basketball Player Quotes (11-15)
- “You always have to be on edge. You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last.”– Kobe Bryant
- “The key to success is to keep growing in all areas of life – mental, emotional, spiritual, as well as physical.” – Julius Erving
- “Leadership is getting players to believe in you. If you tell a teammate you’re ready to play as tough as you’re able to, you’d better go out there and do it. Players will see right through a phony. And they can tell when you’re not giving it all you’ve got.” – Larry Bird
- “If somebody says no to you, or if you get cut, Michael Jordan was cut his first year, but he came back and he was the best ever. That is what you have to have. The attitude that I’m going to show everybody, I’m going to work hard to get better and better.” – Magic Johnson
- “This is a tough game. There are times when you’ve got to play hurt, when you’ve got to block out the pain.” – Shaquille O’Neal
Basketball Player Quotes (16-20)
- “You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go… Don’t ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- “There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan
- “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.” – Isiah Thomas
- “I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don’t do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.” – Michael Jordan
- “So much of becoming a good athlete involves bringing other things to the table, other than physical skills. It involves intelligence, it involves many of the things that you learn during the process of being educated. How to analyze, how to assess, how to equate, how to reason.” – Julius Erving
END: Basketball Player Quotes