Top 100 Basketball Quotes (2025 Update)

1. “You always have to be on edge. You always have to take every practice, every game, like it is your last.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Work Ethic Quotes, Passion Quotes, Practice Quotes

2. “Love me or hate me. It’s one or the other. Always has been. Hate my game, my swagger. Hate my fadeaway, my hunger. Hate that I’m a veteran, a champion. Hate that. Hate it with all your heart. And hate that I’m loved for the exact same reasons.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Competition Quotes, Haters Quotes

3. “What I’m doing right now, I’m chasing perfection... and if I don’t get it, I’m going to get this close.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Dedication Quotes, Greatness Quotes, Practice Quotes, Sports Quotes

4. “A player who makes a team great is more valuable than a great player. Losing yourself in the group, for the good of the group, that’s teamwork.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Coaching Quotes, Teamwork Quotes

5. “If nobody will help you, do it alone.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Helping Quotes

6. “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

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Dedication Quotes, Fitness Quotes, Victory Quotes

7. “I’ll do whatever it takes to win games, whether it’s sitting on a bench waving a towel, handing a cup of water to a teammate, or hitting the game-winning shot.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Sports Quotes, Grind Quotes

8. “Sometimes, things may not go your way, but the effort should be there every single night.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Never Give Up Quotes, Sports Quotes, Gym Quotes

9. “I don’t just try to score. The challenge is elevating my teammates to be able to win a championship.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Challenges Quotes

10. “Each time I step on the basketball court, I never know what will happen. I live for the moment. I play for the moment.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Sports Quotes, Carpe Diem Quotes

11. “Basketball isn’t just a sport. It is an art, one that must be mastered to succeed.”

— Stephen Curry

12. “The game has its ups and downs, but you can never lose focus of your individual goals and you can’t let yourself be beat because of lack of effort.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Never Give Up Quotes, Sports Quotes

13. “Fundamentals were the most crucial part of my game in the NBA. Everything I did, everything I achieved, can be traced back to the way I approached the fundamentals.”

— Michael Jordan

14. “The key to teamwork is to learn a role, accept a role, and strive to become excellent playing it.”

— Pat Riley

Also featured in: Friday Quotes for Work, Collaboration Quotes

15. “Basketball is my refuge, my sanctuary. I go back to being a kid on the playground. When I get here, it’s all good.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Sports Quotes, Quotes About Kids

16. “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

Also featured in: Success Quotes, Inspirational Quotes, Perseverance Quotes, Failure Quotes

17. “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Hard Work Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Motivational Work Quotes, Work Ethic Quotes

18. “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.”

— Phil Jackson

Also featured in: Motivational Monday Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Collaboration Quotes, Inspiring Quotes, Teamwork Quotes

19. “If you lose self-control everything will fall.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Discipline Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Self Control Quotes

20. “Be quick, but don't hurry.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Short Positive Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Performance Quotes

21. “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

Also featured in: Winning Quotes, Collaboration Quotes, Victory Quotes, Sports Quotes

22. “Give me 100 percent. You can’t make up for a poor effort today by giving 110 percent tomorrow. You don’t have 110 percent. You only have 100 percent, and that’s what I want from you right now.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Focus Quotes, Perseverance Quotes, Hard Work Quotes, Effort Quotes, Performance Quotes

23. “My best skill was that I was coachable. I was a sponge and aggressive to learn.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Mindset Quotes, Greatness Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Men, Inspirational Career Quotes

24. “I like criticism. It makes you strong.”

— LeBron James

Also featured in: Quotes About Strength, Strong Quotes, Growth Mindset Quotes

25. “It represents a Bible verse I wear on my shoe. Philippians 4:13. It says ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.’ It’s also my mantra, how I get up for games and why I play the way I do.”

— Stephen Curry

Also featured in: Quotes About Strength, Christian Quotes, Christian Motivational Quotes, Faith Quotes

26. “I wanna be the best, simple and plain.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Passion Quotes, Commitment Quotes, Greatness Quotes

27. “Good teams become great ones when the members trust each other enough to surrender the Me for the We.”

— Phil Jackson

Also featured in: Coaching Quotes, Collaboration Quotes, Teamwork Quotes, Quotes About Trust

28. “We all can be masters at our craft, but you have to make sacrifices that come along with making that decision.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Excellence Quotes, Dedication Quotes, Gym Motivation Quotes, Mastery Quotes

29. “I’ve always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Fitness Quotes, Victory Quotes, Graduation Quotes

30. “A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.”

— Larry Bird

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Motivational Monday Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Winning Quotes, Work Ethic Quotes

31. “Every time I rise up, I have confidence that I’m going to make it.”

— Stephen Curry

Also featured in: Obstacles Quotes, Resilience Quotes, Victory Quotes, Being Strong Quotes

32. “Whatever it takes to win.”

— Pat Riley

Also featured in: Strategy Quotes, Winning Quotes, Not Giving Up Quotes, Boss Quotes

33. “Perform at your best when your best is required. Your best is required each day.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Coaching Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Expectations Quotes, Sports Quotes

34. “Being afraid on the court means you’re not confident of your skills.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Believe in Yourself Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Competition Quotes, Quotes About Skills

35. “I just feel that my competitive drive is far greater than anyone else that I’ve met, and I think that I thrive on that.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Greatness Quotes, Competition Quotes, Sports Quotes, Gym Motivation Quotes

36. “Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.”

— Bill Russell

Also featured in: Mental Strength Quotes, Gym Motivation Quotes

37. “It’s not how big you are, it’s how big you play.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Coaching Quotes, Gym Quotes

38. “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

Also featured in: Consistency Quotes

39. “I don’t want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Believe in Yourself Quotes, Athlete Quotes, Legacy Quotes, Personal Branding Quotes

40. “There was never any fear for me, no fear of failure. If I miss a shot, so what?”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Gym Motivation Quotes

41. “First master the fundamentals.”

— Larry Bird

Also featured in: Firsts Quotes, Mastery Quotes

42. “It’s not about the number of hours you practice, it’s about the number of hours your mind is present during the practice.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Powerful Motivational Quotes, Effort Quotes, Performance Quotes, Motivational Workout Quotes, Practice Quotes

43. “I focus on one thing and one thing only – that’s trying to win as many championships as I can.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Dedication Quotes, Winning Quotes, Competition Quotes, Sports Quotes

44. “As far as carrying the torch for the years to come, I don’t know. I just want to be the best basketball player I can be.”

— Kobe Bryant

45. “First be the best and then be first.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Firsts Quotes

46. “Never say never, because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Confidence Quotes, Motivational Quotes for Success, Powerful Motivational Quotes, Athlete Quotes

47. “Heroes come and go, but legends are forever.”

— Kobe Bryant

Also featured in: Famous Quotes, Wednesday Motivational Quotes, Legacy Quotes

48. “Once I made a decision, I never thought about it again.”

— Michael Jordan

Also featured in: Short Motivational Quotes, Choices Quotes, Decision-Making Quotes, Determination Quotes

49. “Discipline yourself and others won't need to.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Coaching Quotes, Excellence Quotes, Personal Responsibility Quotes, Graduation Quotes

50. “Champions are brilliant at the basics.”

— John Wooden

Also featured in: Athlete Quotes, Motivational Monday Quotes, Coaching Quotes, Excellence Quotes