Court-Side Motivation: 50 Quotes from Basketball Legends
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50 Court-Side Quotes from Basketball Legends
- “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” – Michael Jordan
- “The most important thing is to try and inspire people so that they can be great in whatever they want to do.” – Kobe Bryant
- “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” – Wayne Gretzky (popularized by Michael Scott)
- “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.” – Kevin Durant
- “I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying.” – Michael Jordan
- “Everything negative—pressure, challenges—is all an opportunity for me to rise.” – Kobe Bryant
- “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. ’Til your good is better and your better is best.” – Tim Duncan
- “You have to expect things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
- “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
- “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.” – Michael Jordan
- “If you’re afraid to fail, then you’re probably going to fail.” – Kobe Bryant
- “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice, and most of all, love of what you are doing.” – Pelé (basketball cross-sport inspiration)
- “Ask not what your teammates can do for you. Ask what you can do for your teammates.” – Magic Johnson
- “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.” – Jerry West
- “It’s not about the shoes, it’s what you do in them.” – Michael Jordan
- “Be the best version of yourself in anything you do.” – Kobe Bryant
- “Champions keep playing until they get it right.” – Billie Jean King
- “I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.” – Tom Izzo
- “Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for the achievement of the group.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- “Leaders are made, they are not born.” – Mike Krzyzewski
- “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden
- “Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” – Bill Bradley
- “Be humble. Be hungry. And always be the hardest worker in the room.” – Dwyane Wade
- “Pressure is a privilege.” – Billie Jean King
- “If you don’t have confidence, you’ll always find a way not to win.” – Carl Lewis
- “Some will want it to happen, some will wish it would happen, others will make it happen.” – Michael Jordan
- “Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” – Winston Churchill
- “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
- “I never worry about the problem. I worry about the solution.” – Shaquille O’Neal
- “The number one question I ask myself is, ‘Am I doing the right thing to be the best version of myself?’” – Stephen Curry
- “You can’t be afraid to fail. It’s the only way you succeed.” – LeBron James
- “I play to win, whether during practice or a real game.” – Michael Jordan
- “The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.” – Ernie Banks
- “Greatness is a lot of small things done well every day.” – Ray Allen
- “Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.” – James Dean
- “A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t.” – Jack Dempsey
- “Don’t measure yourself by what you have accomplished, but by what you should have accomplished.” – John Wooden
- “Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life.” – Roy T. Bennett
- “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill
- “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi
- “Greatness makes people recognize the best.” – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
- “You can’t put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.” – Michael Phelps
- “Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” – John F. Kennedy
- “Without self-discipline, success is impossible.” – Lou Holtz
- “Pain is temporary. It may last a minute, or an hour… but eventually it will subside.” – Lance Armstrong
- “Take the risk or lose the chance.” – Unknown
- “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt
- “You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” – Michael Jordan
- “Success isn’t owned, it’s leased—and rent is due every day.” – J.J. Watt
- “The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital.” – Joe Paterno
