Nba Quotes

The thing that happened in Washington
it happened. All you can do is just grow from it. That took a toll on me. That was probably
I think if I could've bounced mentally out of that situation faster than I did, I would probably still be in the NBA. But since I couldn't understand why they were trying to treat me like that, I basically gave up. I just didn't want to be a part of it anymore. ~ Gilbert Arenas

True motivation is not getting people to play to their potential. It's getting people to play beyond their potential ~ Rick Pitino

I was hoping to get to the NBA, but the Lord took me on a different path. ~ Robbie Jones

Well, Doctor, I don't have the diagnosis on that. I'll be sure to do a physical checkup and get back to you. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

No one was there. Some teammates, huh? I guess they didn't want to get their lip busted like the gentleman I busted. Sorry for that sir. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

We've been able to handle any team that you guys put in front of us. We've had confidence since day one ... We feel like any team we play against, we've got what it takes to put ourselves in a position to win. ~ Tristan Thompson

I think I can be pretty special. I think I can impact a lot in the NBA, especially with my size and my shooting ability and athleticism and just being a humble person. ~ Ben McLemore

The greatest compliment to any player is he is a great teammate. We can't all be great players, but we can all be great teammates ~ Jay Bilas

Once Michael gets up there he says, 'Well, maybe I'll just hang up here in the air for a while, just sit back.' Then all of a sudden, he says, 'Well, maybe I'll 360. No I changed my mind. I'll go up on the other side.' He's just incredible. ~ Magic Johnson

A Coach must never forget that he is a leader and not merely a person with authority. ~ John Wooden

We had a lot of luck this year and our guys took advantage. Wow. What a night. ~ Steve Kerr

I'm a lot better coach when I have really good players ~ Chuck Daly

One of the hardest things for a ball player to do is to accept his role ~ Scottie Pippen

Enunciation, diction, all that stuff. None of that is in my personality. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

The NBA is a big family, and I think of all these rookies as my brothers. I still believe I am blue collar among the All-Stars. ~ Yao Ming

Tell them it was a foul. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

That team across the way, you tip your hat to them. They did a great job. It showed in these Finals. ~ LeBron James

What type of teammates do you want to play with? Be that teammate yourself ~ John Calipari

By delivering a wide array of programming to YouTube, the NBA will be able to connect with its existing worldwide fan base and reach a vast new audience that is passionate about basketball. ~ Chad Hurley

I see kids today trying to do the things I did, and it makes me feel like I've come a long way. ~ Allen Iverson

It's all about winning. Stats really don't matter, I mean, guys have great series and all that, and people take notice and take their place in history with those stats and all that stuff. But at the end of the day, it's all about winning and what you can do to help your team get to that point. ~ Stephen Curry

I think it was wishful thinking of me to dream of being an NBA player. And once I made the NBA I dreamed of being an All-Star, but I never dreamed of being an MVP. ~ Steve Nash

I definitely want to thank my doctor, Dr. Sandy, um, my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot, thank you so much. ~ Metta World Peace

Trying to make the NBA is one of the very few areas where a Harvard degree won't necessarily help. ~ Jeremy Lin

The first time I stepped on an NBA court I became a businessman. ~ LeBron James

People always talk about going on offensive runs. But you can go on defensive runs too ~ Tom Thibodeau

The seminal elements of what makes a story great - challenge, struggle, resolution - are the same whether we're talking about story content for a movie such as 'Rain Man,' or telling a purposeful story to forge new business relationships or conclude a fruitful transaction, such as acquiring an NBA franchise. ~ Peter Guber

It's easy to be a spokesman and ambassador for a great organization like the NBA. I thank Commissioner David Stern for putting that trust in me to serve the NBA around the globe. ~ Dikembe Mutombo

I didn't like how my NBA career ended because I wanted to go out on my own terms. But nobody tried to believe in me, that I could go back and play. I can still play at 39. ~ Tim Hardaway

Each game is an opportunity to be on a great stage and be a witness for Christ. When I step on the floor, people should know who I represent, who I believe in. ~ Stephen Curry

The NBA has a voice that's why they have a lockout. The NFL has a voice that's why they had a lockout. Boxing is the only sport that's individually represented the individual people - Managers, Promoters and Boxers. ~ Bernard Hopkins

The thing about the NBA, any pro sport, is, guys don't know how to take care of their body. ~ John Salley

The key to success is failure ~ Michael Jordan

When Jordan took the court for the first time wearing his special red-and-black shoes, the NBA fined the Bulls $1,000 for violating the league's uniform dress code. Nike cleverly seized on the fine as a publicity opportunity, producing a television commercial that showed Jordan bouncing a ball as a voice said: "On September 15, Nike created a revolutionary new basketball shoe. On October 18, the NBA threw them out of the game. Fortunately, the NBA can't keep you from wearing them. Air Jordans from Nike. ~ Aaron Frisch

The kind of support we have in Oklahoma City, it's the best in the NBA. Phenomenal. Beards in the crowd, the whole nine. The city is really something special. ~ James Harden

Kevin Garnett is the prototype for the NBA player of the future. He's already one of the greatest players to have played the game. ~ Bill Walton

Get away from my house. What do you want? ~ Shaquille O'Neal

Don't ever have a rule that you won't enforce with your best player. ~ Doug Collins

I haven't always recruited for the best talent. I've taken a few guys who would fit for different reasons. Leadership. Toughness ~ Tom Izzo

I'm proud of everybody in our organization. Not every story has a happy ending. Doesn't mean it's a bad story. ~ David Blatt

I know that this is sport first and business second, and people have to do what's right for them. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

I know I'm one of the biggest busts in NBA history ~ Greg Oden

Do you want to choose winning over standing out? It's a choice every player on every championship team has to do ~ Doc Rivers

The NBA's been around how long? A hundred years? Fifty years? So to change it now, whoever that person is needs his college degree revoked ... Whoever did that needs to be fired. It was terrible, a terrible decision. Awful. I might get fined for saying that, but so what? ~ Shaquille O'Neal

I was supposed to take the ball out. I told coach there's no way I'm taking the ball out, unless I can shoot it over the backboard and it goes in. I told him, 'Have somebody else take the ball out, give me the ball, and everybody get out of the way.' ~ LeBron James

I'm a 34-year-old NBA center. I'm black. And I'm gay. I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation. I wish I wasn't the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, 'I'm different.' If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I'm raising my hand. ~ Jason Collins

Wig Out At Jagbags is inspired by Cologne, Germany, Mark Von Schlegell, Rosemarie Trockel, Von Spar and Jan Lankisch, Can and Gas; Stephen-Malkmus-imagined Weezer/Chili Peppers, Sic Alps, UVA in the late 80's, NYRB, Aroma Charlottenburg, inactivity, Jamming, Indie guys trying to sound Memphis, Flipper, Pete Townshend, Pavement, The Joggers, The NBA and home life in the 2010's ... ~ Stephen Malkmus

They asked me when I was out there, 'Why do you want to be traded?' I said me staying here is like divorcing my wife and marrying someone who looks like me. That's backwards, man. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

I always felt that I had to leave a legacy on the African continent. As I was only the third player to come to the NBA from Africa, I felt I had to do my best to recruit more young Africans to come and play in the NBA - and also find a way to bring the NBA to Africa. ~ Dikembe Mutombo

The Honda Center is a wonderful arena. And it's a great arena, not only for the NHL, but it would be a great arena for an NBA team. ~ Henry Samueli

Tonight we had our chances but we ran out of talent. ~ LeBron James

Since the NBA purchased the New Orleans Hornets, final responsibility for significant management decisions lies with the Commissioner's Office in consultation with team chairman Jac Sperling. All decisions are made on the basis of what is in the best interests of the Hornets. In the case of the trade proposal that was made to the Hornets for Chris Paul, we decided, free from the influence of other NBA owners, that the team was better served with Chris in a Hornets uniform than by the outcome of the terms of that trade. ~ David Stern

There's a reason why the Super Bowl is watched way more than the NBA Finals and World Series. ~ A.D. Aliwat

The players I respected most were the toughest players, not those who talked a good game or blocked a shot and acted like a fool. ~ Jay Bilas

Obviously I'm not getting much sleep. You guys can see I'm not getting much sleep right now, but I'm OK with that. I'm OK with not sleeping to be able to prepare myself and mentally keep myself intact on what's the main objective for me right now. ~ LeBron James

Ninety percent of the coaches in the NBA are guards, and there aren't very many big men people coaching, I happen to be one of them and when I coached, everybody on my team, including the guards, had a hook shot, so that it was their bail out shot. ~ Tom Heinsohn

Christian is going to be the strongest man in the NBA next year, because all he's been doing all summer is carrying around the luggage for 11 guys. ~ Charles Barkley

I don't see it happening unless every NBA player is given a stipend to buy clothes. ~ Marcus Camby

Give me about 10 years, I'm going to run for President. If I can squeeze in an NBA championship before that, I'll do it. ~ Will Smith

I'm no miracle man. I guarantee nothing but hard work. ~ Bear Bryant

Afterwards I said Chris Webber was going to leave as a free agent and Sacramento would go back to expansionism. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

When I was a little kid I used to go on the playground and say: today I will shoot like Bird, pass like Magic, jump like Mike, be quick like Zeke. I am thankful to them, since without seeing them do things they did, I wouldn't be in the NBA. ~ Allen Iverson

It was the Michael Jordan/Nike phenomenon that really let people see that athletes were OK, and black athletes were OK. Defying a previous wisdom - not only that black athletes wouldn't sell in white America, but that the NBA as a predominantly black sport could not sell in white America. ~ David Stern

In the end, what your own troops do is more important than who they are marching against. ~ Don Meyer

I wanted to compete at the highest level again - and that's the NBA. ~ Larry Bird

To be a great player or a good player in the NBA, I have to work on my perimeter game. ~ Amar'e Stoudemire

That dude scored 8 points in the last 19 seconds, pulled out a miracle win at the Garden. He made me choke on a chicken bone that day. I'm serious. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

When I come home, I'm not a basketball player, but "dad". While everyone sees me as an NBA player, to my boys, I'm just "dad" and that's very important. ~ Dwyane Wade

The thing I love about the NBA game is that it's a playmaker's league. ~ Lamar Odom

I'll save that for Mrs. Battier. ~ Shane Battier

Alvin's the coach. We must be the Clippers. And I must be Olowokandi. Nooooo! ~ Shaquille O'Neal

Championship teams are built on being prepared, playing unselfishly and being held accountable ~ Jason Kidd

The biggest surprise has been making the adjustment after losing a game. In the NBA you could lose tonight and you have to put that game behind you because you have another game the next night. ~ Dwyane Wade

Every time you compete, try harder to improve on your last performance. Give nothing short of your very best effort. ~ Elgin Baylor

Oklahoma residents are known for not backing down from a fight in the political arena, on the gridiron, NBA courts or rodeo arenas, but in their reaction to the bombing, they knew intuitively they would not find restoration in rage. ~ Tom Brokaw

I have had some bad shooting games but that doesn't stop me from getting the ball to my teammates ~ Jason Kidd

I think he got an incidental elbow in the face, messed up his pretty red lips a little bit. But other than that he'll be fine. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

An NBA game in L.A., the Lakers - I'm a Clipper fan - it's to be seen as much as seeing the game. ~ Larry King

The way I dress, I dress totally different than I did when I was in college. I have to - try to - look professional. You change a lot when you are in the NBA, but I know where I came from. ~ Derrick Rose

I don't need my players to like me. I need them to play for me ~ Jerry Sloan

Our offense is like the pythagorean theorem: There is no answer! ~ Shaquille O'Neal

I have the loving support of my girlfriend who still attends Wake Forest and is nearing graduation. She helps me cope with the everyday rigors of being an NBA player. ~ Tim Duncan

Everything is sore right now. Everything. I look like I'm doing okay but I can't wait to get home. ~ LeBron James

If something works for another school, use it. Don't act like you are too good to use other ideas ~ Hubie Brown

A team like Golden State, when they get into a rhythm they make shots. ~ LeBron James

NBA gets to see these players develop more..Did Lebron need another year, Did Kobe need another year ~ Arn Tellem

If every basketball player worked as hard as I did, I'd be out of a job ~ Steve Nash

Like I've always said, what's hot must go cold. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

I don't look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball. ~ Mike Krzyzewski

I made a lot of mistakes, a lot of things I'm not proud of. But it's only for other people to learn from. ~ Allen Iverson

Steph is scary. I've never seen anyone who can shoot the ball off the dribble like him. He got it going in 4th. Every game is different. ~ LeBron James

One time, I put up 40, 50 points dunking on Shawn Bradley. After the game, he brought his family over. He was like, 'This is my wife. She wants to take a picture.' I'm like, 'Nice to meet you.' I smile into the camera, take the picture, and then feel guilty about dunking on him so many times. ~ Shaquille O'Neal

It was an unusual environment. We're used to having the jotter arena at this time of year. It's unfortunate that it was that way, but both teams had to deal with it. ~ Erik Spoelstra

A closing team is so important in the NBA. The last seven minutes is what you are always coaching to get to. Now you have your team set, you have the match-ups you want, you have your time-outs, your chance to finish the game, and that's my job, to get us to that position during the course of the game. ~ Doug Collins

If I could have gave more, I would have done it. I gave everything I had ~ LeBron James

I can't think of any NBA team over the last few years that lost three starters. And we replaced them basically with three guys who really haven't played in this league. ~ Isaiah Thomas

I met wonderful people playing in the NBA. Whether it is the officials, the scorekeepers, all the people who work for the NBA, not just for the Lakers, but I'm talking about just for the league itself. ~ Magic Johnson

Fifty percent of life in the N.B.A. is sex. The other fifty percent is money. ~ Dennis Rodman

My good friend Yao Ming was the first big player in the NBA to come from China. He gave himself to the game and was successful. That inspired the NBA to invest more and do more for the game of basketball. We're building academies not just in China, but in India, Africa, Europe and South America as well. ~ Dikembe Mutombo

I'm very good at noticing talent. I knew he was special then and obviously he is now. ~ LeBron James